A Breath of Fresh Air
by Steel Lycan
Summary: Some people are just...bad in love. They need a shove in the right direction to make things actually happen. And if one is especially lucky, then one might even be given a love fairy in their endeavor to success. Like this guy. And with a nymphomaniac hottie of a fairy mentor by his side, everything's sure to be smooth sailing...right?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

 **Disclaimer: HuniePop does not belong to me.**

 _ **Flashback...**_

" _So you're telling me that from now on we'll be living in the States?"_

 _I murmured as I processed what Mom just said. Mom's notorious for bringing up false hopes, at least in my book, and I'm still rather skeptical about it. One of my childhood dreams has been to go to a different country and live there. To study their language, to understand to culture, to basically immerse myself in them as I become a part of something new. I can tell right now that I'll be having dreams about this subject for nights to come, regardless of whether Mom's words come true or not._

 _Speaking of dreams, I had an odd bit of a dream last night. Something about a love fairy named Kyu or some shit like that. I believe in the supernatural, sure, but damn, am I really getting THAT desperate? There's also that bit about some app called HunieBee that supposedly allowed to stalk girls and get inside info on them._

 _Sometimes, I just scare myself. Yuno Gasai will be proud._

" _Yes. It's been your dream to travel, right? Well there you go. Besides, I want you to spend some time with your brother, to get to know him better. You know, he's the one that made this entire thing possible."_

 _Ah yes, my half-brother, the guy who has it all. Tall, good looks, fit body, good job, great girlfriend, anything that fits under the stereotype of "success". Guy's the most fulfilled person I know, and he's not snobby about it. He's a great person actually, and cares about everyone he knows. Guess that's why he's so popular. He's like a girl's wet dream._

 _That, and he put in a good word at their local university, some place named UOG, for me to study my post-grads there. While I did graduate at the top science/medical university in the country, I barely did so. Honestly, I still don't know why everyone's making such a big deal out of it. Anyways, it's also probably because my mom egged him on it. She's been talking a lot about medical careers ever since I entered college, and with my brother being a surgeon in the making, I guess she wanted me to join in on the family line._

 _Which is probably the reason why this whole thing is happening in the first place._

" _So we'll be moving in with him? I thought he already lived with his aunts over there?"_

" _No, but we'll be moving to the lot beside your Auntie Gene's. Both your aunt and your brother works at the hospital nearby, so you'll be seeing each other a lot. He owns an apartment in the town, so you can visit him anytime you want."_

* * *

I haven't asked much questions after that and just rolled with it. Although "roll" is probably an understatement, considering that I wasn't shutting my yap about it the whole time I waited before we actually went to America. Yep, finals happened, thesis happened, exams happened, graduation happened, and I'm still yapping about the same thing. It's a testament to my friends' patience that they're still bearing with me over it.

And they're still bearing with it right now as we, my family and I, cruise at approximately forty thousand feet above sea level.

Oh, and I forgot, I just added one more friend to my repertoire of victims...ahem, I mean my friends, of course. My newest link to the great Americas.

 **FriedChicken:** It's been hours, dammit. I'm being impatient as hell!

 **RX3:** Well, you _are_ going to the other side of the world. ***shrugs**

 **PictureWho:** Don't forget my _pasalubong_ ty **^_^**

 **FriedChicken:** I ain't even there yet, bruh

 _Blue88 has joined the chat. Say hi!_

I then realized that my new friend, Nikki, entered the chat room. I added her last night while I was playing in the NA server of League of Legends to catch up. She wasn't _that_ good, but she was nice enough, and she cooperated well. It wasn't that hard to carry if you have one other sane person to carry with.

 **Blue88:** Um, hi.

 **PictureWho:** I don't care, I

 **FriedChicken:** lol someone just got cut off.

 **RX3:** So she's the one you've been telling us about? The girl of your dreams? ***lennyface**

 **FriedChicken:**...

 **Blue88:**...

 _NyanCow has joined the chat. Say hi!_

 **PictureWho:** Hey Jule, you're just in time! Check out **Blue88** , Gab's dream girl! **:p**

 **NyanCow:** Oh really? Wow, nice going Gab. ***thumbs up**

 **Blue88:**...

 **FriedChicken:** _Ay puta._ First off, don't go making up false statements, ok? Secondly, I said no such thing. Thirdly—

 _Blue88 has disconnected._

" _Well fuck, how am I going to resolve this situation?"_

Wait, was that snickering? Looking up, I saw my little brother snickering at me, laughing like he just watched some cheesy chick flick. Annoying. Then again, the little runt is sitting beside my mom, who _always_ take _his_ side in an argument, no matter how illogical it may seem. Deciding to ignore the little punk, I decided to PM Nikki in League. She's off on FB already, and she seems to be in queue. Just as I was about to type a message, the speakers rang out, stating that we should wear our seatbelts because we're starting the descent. Suddenly, all thoughts are gone, replaced by a single thought.

A brand new start. A brand new life. A brand new...lovelife? Ha, hopefully!

Welcome to the USA!

 **AN: Sorry for almost no appearance of the girls yet! It's a prologue; it's supposed to do prologue things. Besides, it felt right to end it here, so as to not break the flow of the next scenes ahead. Try and guess who Gab will meet first (Nikki chat doesn't count)! It'll also help me a lot if you can tell me your opinion on this. I'm not used to first-person, so tell me what points I have to work on. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1: Touchdown**

 **AN: Back! Sorry for the long wait, finals season and all that. Math handed my ass back on a silver platter, but otherwise all is well. Now then, presenting the newest chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: Huniepop doesn't belong to me. Obviously.**

 _Oh this has gotta be the good life  
This has gotta be the good life  
This could really be a good life, good life_

 _Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight  
Like this city is on fire tonight  
This could really be a good life  
A good, good life_

 _Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

One Republic's song _Good Life_ rang in my head as we walked through the airport, my two backpacks slung on each shoulder. I'm really excited about moving in our new home! Apparently, most of our stuff is already there thanks to the moving company Aunt Geneva hired. It's basically just waiting for us to move in it and use it so...

"What are we waiting for again?" I asked for the tenth time as we waited inside the airport amidst the mid-afternoon rush. It's too crowded for me, really. Though they're not really looking at me, I just find the sheer amount of people uncomfortable. Also, I'm pretty sure my little runt of a brother is starting to feel stir-crazy as well, seeing how he keeps whining every five seconds or so. Mom looks clearly annoyed, to say the least, but I care more about what the hell are we waiting for.

"We're waiting for your Auntie Geneva to come pick us up, along with your brother Hector." She said wearily. She then continued on as she once again recounted every success Hector had recently. I ignored her then and there. I know it's rude, but when you hear comparisons between you and your brothers (yes, even that little runt Frank), you just stop caring eventually. Besides, right now I'm looking at one of the stewardesses who have disembarked from the plane. I never really paid much attention earlier since I was busy either chatting or sleeping.

First thing I saw was this massive afro that she had. It's not as big as those that you see from the '60s, but _damn_ it's big. There's also another thing that's big, two of them actually, but I decided to pull my eyes off them. I then realized that the stewardess uniform is quite revealing. Ignoring that confident-looking woman, I decided to let my eyes wander some more. There's so much ethnic diversity in here. It's kinda like a pack of M &M's, come to think of it.

Upon looking at one of the food chains in the airport, I felt the sudden urge to eat as my stomach rumbled. I ate nothing during the flight after all. It's funny how sluggish a body can become after travel, isn't it?

Tapping my mom's shoulder, I pointed to a stall as I walked to the same direction, intending to buy myself some food. My mom and little brother stayed outside, not really wanting to buy anything. Frank protested, but it was to no avail. If there's one thing that Mom is, it's that she's stubborn. Anyways, I went over to the Chinese food stall when I brushed my arm against a familiar sight.

It was her, the afro girl from earlier.

" _Wow, she's almost as tall as I am."_

She looked at me with a neutral expression as I looked back with an equally neutral expression. After a few seconds, she decided to break the ice.

"Hey, weren't you in my flight earlier? The one with his earphones always on?" She asked. Well, it's true. I almost never removed my earphones. I only really did remove them when my mom is trying to say something. Thankfully what she's been saying at that time were tips that supposedly came from Aunt Geneva.

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah, I was. Sorry about that. I was just kinda trying to relax, know what I'm saying? It's been a long flight and—" I just realized I am here to buy food, not chat with stewardesses.

"One Set A please, Coke Zero drink, no ice." Turning back to the woman, I apologized.

"Sorry for that, I was actually here to buy something." On retrospect, that sounded kinda rude. Hopefully she won't take it the wrong way.

Thankfully, she didn't.

"No problem! I should be the one apologizing to you for holding you up. I—" She turned to the airport sliding glass doors, then quickly turned back to me.

"It seems that your ride's here. Is that your brother?" She pointed at the tall, dark man who was beckoning to us, specifically me.

"Yeah. We look nothing alike, right?" I smiled. It was always the first question asked when the two of us are seen together. Hector took more after his dad, Mom said, so he looked like that.

"True, true." As I took my order, paid, and walked away, I saw smiles coming from everyone, and a particularly wide, shit-eating grin from a very much cute face of a girl I wasn't familiar to. She was sitting there in the car at the passenger seat, beside the left mirror. I don't think I have ever seen her before. Emerald eyes looked through mine as our eyes met.

Who is this girl?

As Gabriel approached the awaiting entourage, he continued to observe the stranger, a cute girl to be accurate, and stared at her as he approached the group. She was sticking out like a sore thumb, the way she so casually leaned on her arms as she looked out from inside the minivan. It drew attention to her honestly ample breasts, but Gabriel tried to look away.

Eh, too late.

Luckily, the girl didn't make a fuss, but instead gave him a quick wink. So quick in fact, that if he wasn't actually gawking at this girl's beauty, he wouldn't have noticed it.

"Hey bud, what's up?"

Now _that_ wasn't what he expected. His look of wonder turned into one of befuddlement as he continued to look awkwardly at the female, who is in turn giggling at him. He then turned to his brother, who had a knowing smile on his lips.

"Umm...who's this?"

"She's Kyu, a neighbour." As Hector explained, the girl got out of the car and approached the hesitant Gabriel. This was rare, he thought. The only times girls approached him was either they were relatives or they needed something from him, and in this case neither applies. Aside from her cute face, her slender body isn't something to be ignored as he tensely watched her slowly enter his private zone. It is a well-known fact that introverts have a wide-radius personal space, so when she did invade it, he started showing symptoms. To the rest of the people involved, it is barely noticeable, but to the great Kyu Sugardust, they are like flames in the dark.

Left foot front. He swallowed his spit.

Right foot front. He exhaled uneasily.

Left foot front. His left shoulder blade leaned slightly backwards.

Right foot front. He tried to establish eye contact. She reciprocated. His eyes darted away.

" _Well, it's probably not THAT bad. Let's give him a chance."_ With that thought in mind, Kyu stopped a few feet in front of him. She gave him another look-over. He's still managing to hold it together, but it's clear as day that he isn't experienced _at all_ with the ladies. His reaction is a mix of gladness, surprise, shock, apprehensiveness, and more in a mish-mash of confused emotions. Eh, it's not _that_ bad. She's seen worse. Much worse.

"Hi there!" She bubbled.

"Um, yeah, hi." He said in a neutral tone. Gabriel is...shell-shocked, in a way. While it wasn't _that_ bad, his mind is effortlessly thrown into a swirling mass of confusion and hysteria. So many questions ran through his head like a mad whirlpool, but thankfully, it didn't show. Mostly. Eh, not like any of the people here knew how to read body language _that_ deeply, right?

Yeah, right.

"Kyu, meet Gab. He's my brother. He's a really nice guy, if a bit...unique." Hector said, unsure of how to put it out. Gabriel is _at heart_ a nice guy, and is very much interested in everything that the world has to offer him. It's just that the way he _actually_ interacts with the world and the people around him speaks of the exact opposite. It nearly caused a misunderstanding in their first meeting, and he knew that California operated very differently from what Gab is used to. He'd have to adapt, and fast.

So when Gabriel gave him a flat look, he wasn't able to hold the mirth in. Kyu laughed even harder as the rest, minus Gabriel, chuckled along.

"Great, I get to meet a new girl, and my intro is 'This guy is a weirdo with a tin hat'. Best wingman of the year." The sarcasm-dripping line, complete with the even flatter look, seemed to make Kyu rather mirthful. _That_ he found surprising. He expected her to find it corny, annoying, insulting, or anything in that particular line. The appreciation is not unwelcome though.

"My name is Kyu, nice to meet you." As Kyu greeted the rapidly recovering man, she silently chuckled to herself. At least he is trying. She then leaned in close to his ears, once again sending his imagination in a haywire.

"Look dude, are you gonna be alright? Looks like you're having some trouble holding it together over there." She said to his ear, low enough to not be heard by anyone else. The other adults were busy packing their stuff into the minivan anyway, and while little Frank is hooting at the two, he was quickly chastised by his Aunt Geneva. His mother paid no mind, and Hector went to get his car. Gabriel quickly cleared his throat in an attempt to recover, but his rapidly blushing face is a force of nature.

"What do you mean? I'm fine."

"What do I mean? I mean I can literally see you sweating through your shirt." Her smile never left her face as Gabriel checked to confirm her claim. True enough, a small amount of sweat has made itself known around his neck, and he felt the small of his back moist up.

"It's due to the weather. It's not exactly winter, you know." He shrugged. It's the honest truth. Besides, just because it's cold inside the plane and the building doesn't mean he can't sweat anymore. He's tired from the journey, and it showed. Simple as that.

The girl, who introduced herself as Kyu, shrugged nonchalantly as they neared the two vehicles. Gabriel made a motion to follow the brunette towards his brother's silver sedan, but his mother's voice stopped him in his tracks as she called him towards the minivan.

"Gabbyyyyy! Come here already, we're getting late. Stop wasting time and let's go!"

Internally, Gabriel facepalmed. No, scratch that. He mentally slammed his head on the wall multiple times with increasing force as he begrudgingly trudged towards said minivan. It wasn't the his mom calling him that made him angry, but her _tone_ in doing so, at all honesty, made him want to punch her in the face. Not only did it sound condescending, but she _just_ had to do that _in front of a girl_. An attractive new acquaintance, he might add! It's already bad as it is with his crappy communication skills.

True enough, Kyu's reaction had her raising an eyebrow and her body shifting a bit, a good degree less open than before. He might not be able to do it, but he _at least_ has some idea how body language works, and it doesn't take an astrophysicist to know that she is unimpressed. Thankfully, she quickly smiled back up and bounced from her short change of demeanor, and back into her old self (or at least, what she had shown initially). As he looked back, he saw her smile, in a teasing yet understanding way. It was a grin that, barring his closest friends, would've made him snap in an instant. Instead, it gave him a sort of... _excitement_. Was it her smirk just before the smile? Or was it the understanding that came along with it? Or that she acknowledged him at all? The questions piled in his head as he climbed the minivan, making himself as comfortable as he can, what with his little brother teasing him and his mother talking over the phone.

Right now, all Gabriel wants is to shove his head to a wall.

* * *

The momentum of a sudden halt tumbled through the minivan, waking Gabriel from his deep sleep. The cushion he was seating on felt sunk and rubbery, the noise of his cheering brother chewing through his nerves in record time. He rubbed his eyes, his mood plummeting south as he massaged his aching temple.

The inside of the minivan felt familiar and strange at the same time as he reintegrated his senses into his being. His head felt shaky as he turned to face the window. There were a mix of people currently sitting in what looked like the living room of their new house. They weren't _that_ many—around ten or less, and they mostly looked like young adults. A couple were into their middle ages, but nonetheless, the situation looked pretty normal. But not the _normal_ normal, but a new normal. An exciting normal. Whether it will keep happening again and again to be considered routine, that he cannot say. What he can say however is _hot damn that girl is hot._

She wore a white headband on her long hair, which cascaded down her shapely back as she stood up. She had the body of a _godess,_ he swears. Her tan skin looked sexy and inviting to him, and her figure didn't help matters _at all_. It also seemed that some music just played within the house, because the people inside danced. And by God, did she _dance_. In the future, he'll recall this particular episode and laugh about it, entertained by the antics of his virginal past self, but for now he'll do with staring at her shaking hips.

So it's true that Latinas have a way of moving their bodies sensually. He likes.

"Ohhh, Gab huh, you like that girl huh? Her name's Kyanna." Geneva suddenly spoke up, waking Gabriel from his trance. His aunt had that nasty smile on her face, that teasing smile, that smile that irritates him to no end.

He did find the new information good, though. So her name is Kyanna...wait, we're getting sidetracked here.

"What? What _like_? I haven't even met the person yet—where is Mom? Frank?" He wondered. The two clamorous people beside him earlier all but disappeared, replaced by what seemed to be his baggage. Black bags, scent of perfume, nigh undetectable scent of herbs...

Yep, his bags.

"Oh, you know, just general attraction and all that...Kyanna _is_ a gorgeous young woman after all. She's a nice person too, so I've got no qualms with that." Aunt Geneva smiled sweetly at him, earning a flat look as a reply.

"Whatever, let's just get down and probably have some bites to eat." He said, shrugging off the older woman's teasing as he hauled off his baggage and carried them away, his stomach as empty as his lovelife.

* * *

It is a fairly ordinary day in Sky Garden as Kyu flitted through the air, her face etched with a twist of excitement. She had a knowing, imminent feeling about this entire thing, about why she was called up here. She guessed it's time to earn her keep; to transform lonely deadbeats to sex-n'-roll superstars!

...

Ahem, she meant, persons of significant potential to people of actual motion. This PC thing is starting to get on her nerves lately. It's not like she _meant_ to offend them, but if they're deadbeats, who is she to lie? Love is truth, love is life!

Wait, that's not how it goes.

Brushing off the internal debacle, she knocked on the door to her boss's office. "Theiatena Venus", it read as she entered. The room is flamboyant as always—befitting of a fairy her stature—and is decorated with a mix of white-gold decor stitched with plants and orchids. Marble benches are present throughout the room, their lounging counterparts on the outer part of a ring-like arrangement they were put on. A massive window is visible to her left, the rays of sunlight shining down on the light furniture. Further into the large room is a green-haired goddess—quite literally—sitting on a red throne with golden trims. She is busy staring at her nails when Kyu appeared, her left leg crossed over her right and her left arm supporting her head. Said greenette is wearing a maroon and white _chiton_ with pure golden bracelets and laces. On her head is a golden wreath, and her feet are golden sandals.

This goddess is Theiatena Venus, the leader of all the love faeries, one of which is Kyu. Charged with the goal of making sure humans find true love, or at least get confident, she rules over them with a rather lax attitude.

Not that Kyu's complaining. She's cool and all that, not like some other bosses who were complete blowhards. Not _that_ kind of blowhards, the type of blowhards that pissed you off. Needless to say, Kyu strolled through the large office leisurely as she approached the goddess's table, a smile creeping on her face.

"So, a new job, huh?" The pink-haired fairy started. It isn't exactly a secret why she's here, so better start it off on a light note. One of the curses of her long existence, her boss complained, is that she was perpetually _bored_. She looked less bored today, albeit only by a tiny margin. She still looked like she'd almost rather be mortal. _Almost._

"Yeah." Venus replied, turning to face Kyu. She then stood up and walked down to a marble bench, lying down.

"Same job Kyu, help out some poor soul find true love. Same old, same old." The goddess said as she adjusted her posture, leaning on her side while her arm provided head support.

"I suppose you're up to it?" She stirred her wine and took a sip, a moan escaping her lips as she relished the taste of the alcoholic juice. The pink fairy nodded in reply, eager to help another poor soul in their quest for romance. Venus checked over Kyu for some time, eyeing her from head to toe, before nodding to herself in agreement. Yep, she's ready for it.

"No problems, boss! I'm hopping right to it. So, who's the lucky guy?" Kyu smirked, her voice lively with anticipation. The last guy was certainly, ahem, _gifted_ in his ways, and enjoyed every inch...er, minute spent with the guy. He was quite the pathetic one from the start, just sitting around all day, playing erotic match-three games, reading crappy fanfictions...

She sincerely hoped this guy is no less of a step up from the last one. If there was anything that Kyu knew from all her transactions from the past, it's that the lost ones usually have a _lot_ of latent potential, they just _choose_ to suck by letting the world around them get them down instead of getting him up. Once the ball's gotten rolling and they got the point, it wasn't very hard for them to go chasing after their heart's desire. Some went off to chase some major tail, while others decided to pursue a single partner and give her (or him) all he (or she)'s got. Kyu didn't mind either way; both are respectable in their own ways.

Speaking of which, Venus hasn't told her her target yet.

"Who is it? Spill it out." The fairy's singsong voice echoed through the room as she waited for an answer. The goddess then motioned for her to come closer, taking a _cellphone_ out of her pocket. On the screen is an image. A very familiar image of a young man.

"Hey, isn't that—" Kyu's eyes widened in recognition as Venus vocalized her train of thought.

"Gabriel, yes. The young man you met earlier." The goddess replied, taking another sip of her heavenly wine. Complements to Dionysus and his vineyards, she thought.

"Hmm..."

"Any questions?"

"No, not really. I'm just trying to get an idea of how much potential he has." Kyu said, her hand below her chin in a thinking pose. The man had great potential beneath him, as did many of her clients. Said potential is only remaining locked under that not-so-thick layer of fat and neglect on his part. At least he is a good person. There were times that she had to pick up the slack for people that were a bit more on the Sith-y side of things, and let it be said that some endings just don't go well. One even ended with the guy getting decapitated. Sad.

Another thing that she realized was that despite his eating and lifestyle habits, he isn't actually getting fatter. He's getting _thinner_. With his diet and sedentary way of life, that's not how things are supposed to work out.

"Is it just me or is he not getting any bigger?" Kyu commented as she observed Gabriel casually eating his third plate. Venus raised an eyebrow at Kyu's suggestion, and brought up a picture of Gabriel in his younger years. He was indeed fitter than before.

"Well, some people are just born with good metabolism. I say he got the lucky draw." Venus replied. "That being said, he also seems to be quite the natural athlete. It's as if his body is meant to be running around."

Kyu nodded as she got to what the goddess was saying. Gab was running full pelt as he chased his newly-begotten dog around the yard. For a guy his size, his speed is ridiculously fast...when he's locked on to the dog. On other occasions, he ran rather predictably: clumsily and ungainly.

"It isn't _that_ big of a problem, I think." Kyu said with finality as she went in front of Venus's desk, apparently done with the briefing. Theiatena Venus had a refreshingly informal way of doing things, and Kyu leaving Venus's side told the goddess that her servant got everything that she needed. Nodding, she smiled as she reclined back on her chair.

"Go on now, get busy." The green-haired fairy chuckled as her pink counterpart departed the room in a carefree fashion. Kyu has always been so eager in doing her job.

 _Oh?_

Noticing that her glass is already empty, Venus reached for the bottle within her drawer, unconsciously brushing her fingertip on an dark envelope. She stopped immediately. Picking up the letter, she continued to look at it, still baffled by it's content.

Why would the Lord of the Pacific write to her?

* * *

Kyanna hummed happily as she recalled the events earlier today. The welcoming party for the new neighbours of the block was nice, if a bit more on the slow side. While there was music, most of the movement involved were either people going to take food or get drinks, which are also non-alcoholic. Not that she was complaining about that. The only minor qualm that she had was that the food happened to be high in calories. Literally every single dish available, even the rice, had high calorie content and so she resolved to burn it all ASAP.

Which is why she's currently jogging her way home. Fixed in place yet seemingly following her, the setting sun glowed orange in the dusk sky as she bounced on her feet. She couldn't help but smile as she inhaled the cool June air, fresh with a hint of smoke as she passed families and businesses outside barbecuing. The wind blew opposite of her direction, causing her beautiful long hair to fly in the wind. She felt satisfied.

So lost is she in the moment that she almost didn't register a semi-folded piece of paper exiting her pocket and flying off to the sunset, it's creases trapping the wind and increasing it's movement. Quickly, her arm darted off to catch it, and she returned it to her pocket.

What might be written in that paper, you ask? Written on the paper is a string of numbers and letters, particularly the phone number and address of a certain Gabriel. He had a certain way about him that made the fitness nut like him. Despite being a total couch potato, he was also very much accommodating and pleasant (though he denied this, stating that it's a common trait among his people). He also appeared to be genuinely interested in Kyanna's routine, and by extension, Kyanna herself. Upon her mention of her love for the gym, Gabriel's demeanor shifted to one more befitting of a child. His questions ranged from the gym to proper diet to timing of workout and a whole lot of things regarding her passion for fitness. In return, she replied just as enthusiastically, responding to all his comments with excitement and a certain pride in her voice. She even mentioned to him a yoga class, led by her friend Beli, and he said it sounded interesting too.

She smiled, remembering how eager he was as she offered to help him thin out his weight. He seemed genuinely eager and determined as well, if his planning and tone were anything to go by. He even asked what specific diet is she on that day! Granted, he was questioning it, with her eating unhealthy food and everything, but he _did_ seem knowledgeable on the subject. Their little chat, which ended up extending until the sun started setting, eventually ended up with them scheduling an appointment to the gym while Kyanna herself coaches him on how to do things.

 _It'll be fun!_

Grinning, Kyanna jogged on as she set her sights on a large apartment a few blocks away.

* * *

Kyu sneaked in silently as she re-locked the back door of the newly-moved Sabueso residence, barely avoiding the sleeping dog. Her mission is clear.

Transform the untapped potential that is Gabriel and transform him into a sweet, sensational lover.

Quietly, she let her luminescent pink wings to glide as she slowly scanned the surroundings. All lights are off, and while the darkness didn't bother her, something here's giving her the creeps. And it isn't the virginity either.

" _What the hell is that?!"_

She can feel it crawling up her spine; the feeling of dread and fear. Yes, fear. Fear that came from the knowledge of a predator within close proximity. Fear for her life.

The pink-themed fairy is all but jetting for the door when she remembered why she was here. Her duty is to _uplift_ these sorry excuses for men and realize their true potential! And as such, the love fairy must, nay, will spare no expense in making their dreams come true! After all, nothing can stop love, not even fear. For true love conquers all fear—

" _Alright, get a grip here, girl. You're not a lunatic!"_

Steeling herself, Kyu Sugardust flitted towards a flight of stairs, it's end lighted up by a single lightbulb. Cautiously landing, she tiptoed her way upstairs, thanking her beautiful self that she was light enough to not make a sound. After a few moments of practiced grace, the fairy finally reached the top of the flight. With that, she quickly scanned the hallway before turning off it's lights. While proceeding to one of the two doors, she realized something.

" _They all slept on the same room."_

Now, it wasn't that Kyu minded. After all, she's faced _much_ worse circumstances, and she's pulled them off all well. The problem is that in this case, the client is _not_ alone, and it's dangerous for her to be detected by people other than her target, lest humanity be made known of the supernatural and their minds break. Either that, or she gets captured. Both outcomes not welcomed.

Instead, she thought of an idea, congratulating herself as she quickly flew back downstairs. Opening the fridge, she pulled out some bread and milk—she basically just took whatever food she saw first—and placed them on the table. Then, she hastily flew back top, stopping just before the bedroom door. Wouldn't want to wake up the household, would we?

Now, using her Hunie, Kyu channeled the energy into the doorknob, unlocking it. Gently pushing it open, she saw the arrangement of the people sleeping inside, and then sighed in relief. At the left side of the room, separated from the rest, was her target, Gabriel Sabueso. He is sleeping, his snore reminding her of a bear, his body in a fetal position. Hopping silently to his side, she gathered a pinch of Hunie and sprinkled it on his face. His face contorted, his nose inhaling the magical substance. Slowly, the unconscious young man stirred to life.

" _Now then...let the games begin!"_

 **AN: So there you go. The game's all set up! I'd also like to say that from now on, I'll be using 3** **rd** **POV. 1** **st** **POV's just too uncomfortable to me in comparison to 3** **rd** **POV. I know both have equal potential in exposition, I just prefer the 3** **rd** **POV one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Huniepop isn't mind and belongs to it's rightful owner (not me).**

 _Previously, last chapter..._

 _Now, using her Hunie, Kyu channeled the energy into the doorknob, unlocking it. Gently pushing it open, she saw the arrangement of the people sleeping inside, and then sighed in relief. At the left side of the room, separated from the rest, was her target, Gabriel Sabueso. He is sleeping, his snore reminding her of a bear, his body in a fetal position. Hopping silently to his side, she gathered a pinch of Hunie and sprinkled it on his face. His face contorted, his nose inhaling the magical substance. Slowly, the unconscious young man stirred to life._

" _Now then...let the games begin!"_

 **Chapter 2: Midnight Surprise**

 **Present...**

"Hey you, rise and shine, we've got work to do~!"

Gabriel drifted to consciousness as he groggily sat up on his sofa. His head felt heavy, and it felt like the sofa is a _tiny little bit_ lower than before. He wiggled his butt to confirm this, his upper body still not having gotten the memo.

" _Don't tell me that the sofa sunk permanently due to my weight...I'm not THAT fat."_

He decided to keep wiggling for a few more seconds, satisfying the itch on one of his buns. The burdened furniture ever so slightly swayed and whined as he did, the itch fading with each swing of his butt. Slowly, the itch faded away to nothingness, prompting him to release a sigh of satisfaction and relief.

"Ahhh..."

The fairy in front of him, however, is not amused. Well, probably not. Kyu watched him with a raised eyebrow as he fell asleep once again, sitting up like some enlarged form of a sleep-depraved toddler. Her eyelids fell to a half-open as she gave him a gentle nudge to the head, forcing him to fall...

And wake up with a start _right_ as his head hit the armrest.

" _That was some Loony Tunes shit, yo."_ She thought to herself, grinning.

Blearily, the young man slowly rubbed his eyes open as his mind grunted to make it's gears turning. He wasn't fully awake given the situation, so when he saw a pink fairy in the spitting image of his new acquaintance Kyu sitting in front of him in nothing but a babydoll suit on, he wasn't sure how to process the idea.

In fact, it is pretty safe to say that his mind went blank just then.

His eyes froze in mid-opening as he stared blankly at the... _attractive_ "fairy" in front of him. She seems to be wearing a sort of fairy wing prop on her back in addition to the babydoll outfit, and her hair is tied into a twintail style with metallic objects acting as pins to hold her oddly pink hair in place. Speaking of her outfit, she looked like some lovechild of a fairy and a "magical girl", or _mahou shojo_ , as it is originally known. Besides her lingerie and wings (genuine or not), she is wearing detached sleeves that covered her forearm up to just above the elbow, and she was wearing the leg version of said sleeves on her, well, legs. It covered from just above her knee down to her feet, like some kind of ultra-socks. Her ballerina shoes are colored pink as well, complimented with a butterfly-themed design.

...

...

...

...What?

"Earth to Gabriel, Earth to Gabriel!" Kyu called in a low voice as she waved her hands in front of her new charge, attempting to break him out of his lethargy whilst being silent. While it _did_ get him to look at her again, he is _still_ wearing that blank stare he's have on since he woke up. Not that she can blame him, after all, what are the chances off you being picked as a benefactor and assigned to a love fairy? Not good, surely.

In Gabriel's head, the situation is slowly coalescing into a coherent scenario as his functions started to go online. Having been jolted to reality just a few moments ago, he has chalked up this oddly specific "situation" he was in as some sort of twisted wet dream where he has sex with a new acquaintance he has just met. While he knows it's natural for these things to happen, it still bothered him how his mind can so casually chuck some fetish clothes on an acquaintance and put a label on her as "fuckable". But hey, it's just a dream, so why not?

So he did. He slowly scooted up to the fairy, who is watching him with great interest. She closed her form, most notably her legs, just a little, but made no movement otherwise. With her head facing him, he can see her observing him as he scooted closer and closer, until they were right beside each other. He looked at her admittedly adorable face, and let his eyes run over her figure in rapt admiration. He gulped as his eyes, and immediately after his hand, rested on an uncovered part of her thigh. His other hand clutched his right knee in excitement, desperately trying to calm down the bouncing limb. Just a few inches from it is another limb, which is quickly trying to fight itself out of it's material prison. Taking a deep breath, Gabriel looked back at Fairy-Kyu's face, who is still smiling at him. Looks like this is it.

All those years training for becoming a sorcerer at 30 is now ready for trade. Time to cash the chips in.

Taking one last inhale of her sweet strawberry scent, Gabriel closed his eyes and inched his face closer...and closer...and closer...

...

...

...

...

...What the hell?

"You know, if you're gonna go in for the kiss, you gotta make the girl focus on the kiss and not squeeze on her thigh so much."

When he opened his eyes, Gabriel found out that Kyu is nowhere beside him anymore and is now standing in front of the sofa, barely holding back the giggles. He himself looked like an idiot, with one leg standing and his arms on the back rest and side rest respectively, as if trying to contain something.

And her "thigh" is actually the damn armrest. Suddenly, it doesn't feel like a thigh anymore.

This is one weird dream.

And a fucking insulting one.

Even in his damn dreams _he can't get pussy._

 _FUCK!_

"Now now, don't look so disappointed, you've got the right idea actually. Mostly." She continued. Somehow, her tone made him think that she's _actually helping him out_ , and not, you know, making fun of him. Which may be what she is doing all along.

" _Guy_ _so noob even his subconscious fucks him up."_

The truth of the matter is that he, at least, has _some_ idea, on _what_ to do around girls. It's just that he doesn't exactly know _how_ to go about it. Somehow, things just go awry. While this has only a minor effect, if at all, at him making friends and such, his love life is set into shambles. It's as if there's a sign hanging above his head with UNATTRACTIVE written in big, bold, red letters. With a warning sign. An exclamation point. And even then, he's not even sure if he's doing things right. It's like everything he tries to do is either pushed away or welcomed, but in a platonic manner. It's just so...hard

Why did girls have to be so complicated? Why is dating itself so complicated?

Unconsciously, he sighed as he sat back to his normal position, both energy and boner deflated.

"Now, now, don't look so down, it's not like it's the end of the world or something."

Gabriel looked up to her, surprised to find that sweet, accepting, unjudgemental smile meeting his dejected eyes. Well, there's a glint of mischief behind those pearly white teeth of hers. No matter, he doesn't care. _But she does_.

He let himself smile. He liked this girl already.

 _Hope she likes to make friends._

 _Oh right._

 _I'm dreaming._

 _So this is my dream girl._

 _Fuck._

 _I thought I liked blondes?_

"C'mon, chin up, dicks up. You've got a long ways to go, but you're not hopeless just yet."

Gabriel looked up to her as she stood to a full 5'4 feet, her smile and gaze never leaving him as he stared at her for a good while, but this time with shame and doubt. And a tiny bit of apprehension.

Moments of silence came by them as they continued to stare at each other, not doing anything particularly noteworthy. Finally, the webbed cogs in his head started turning as Gabriel came to his senses in full, his mind finally coherent and ready to proceed the day. And the first action he did with it was he blinked.

 _This is one weird dream._

"So, uh..." He finally spoke up, stealing Kyu's interest from his shoes.

"Weird, huh? This is the first wet dream I've had that the girl rejected me from having sex. Also, uh, umm..." Kyu continued to watch him as she held in her laughter. She's had a wide diversity of clients over the years, but _this_ is definitely a first.

I mean, talking to your wet dream? Seriously?

"Yeah...sorry, um—I mean, the real you, sorry for being disrespectful and stuff. Being a creepy pervert and all that shit..." Gabriel looked away as he scratched the back of his head. His eyes widened in realization that when dreams get weird, it's nearly time for the person to wake up. He hoped to himself that he didn't talk in his sleep or anything. It will be a really awkward morning then. That, or everyone acts like nothing happened. Best outcome ever.

"God knows she'll—you'll kill me, I mean, if you ever knew about this. Thank God it's just a dream." He sighed deeply. Not only is the dream disrespectful, but also very much tactless and tasteless in it's entirety. Sure, he didn't intend for it to happen, but regardless, it did. Safe!

The mischievous glint in Kyu's eyes though begged to differ.

"Afraid not, this is _totally_ happening."

At that, Gabriel _froze_. It's as if some purple guy from Claszureme appeared from out of nowhere and smacked him on the head with a mace. (1)

Or just someone flash-freezing him, for simplicity's sake.

"At least you realize this adorable face. Kyu." She said, striking a pose as she swayed her hips to the side and winked at him. She got a bewildered blink as a reply.

"Yep. Still dreaming."

"Nope. For real."

"Uh huh."

"Yep!"

"Prove it."

And with that, Kyu snatched a fistful of Hunie from seemingly thin air and threw it at the unbelieving heathen, slowly lifting him off the couch

"Wh-Wh-WHAT THE FUCK? DID I TAKE DRUGS BEFORE I WENT TO SLEEP?!" He nearly shouted, but quickly found Kyu _flying_ _through the air_ to seal his mouth with her hands. He then quickly felt her hands slide to his cheeks and in one fluid motion, she pecked him on the lips.

...

...

...

 _Giggle._

Suddenly, blood rushed to his head like a torrent of mad water as his skull is filled with blood. Hormones raged within him as he felt his throat hitch, and his stomach twist. His eyes reopened with renewed intensity as he sensed the world around him anew. He felt the wind blow around him as he stuck in time, his body lingering on the memory of his first kiss. His mind defied the laws of physics as it maintained the sensation of him floating in the air in pure bliss and ecstacy, the delights of kissing a woman washing over his being.

Reality disagreed.

And thus, the both of them crashed on the sofa, the cushions within thankfully masking the majority of the noise. Kyu exploded into laughter as she saw her charge wear the similar expression of someone who was just sucker-punched to the face out of nowhere. She had to admit, it was funny.

* * *

"All I'm saying is that doing such a bold thing is a very bad idea." Gabriel said as he shakily sipped on the warm tea he's just made. Adrenaline is still freshly running through his veins as he tried to calm himself down with the warm drink, but he's getting to it slowly.

Kyu, meanwhile, is lounging on a sofa in the living room not too far from Gabriel. The man himself is sitting on a chair at the dining table, his elbows unsteadily supporting his spastic forearms.

"That depends, Gab. Really, some girls like bold guys, some don't. Anyways..." She then brought her feet down and stood up, fluttering towards him like a butterfly. Her _everything_ reminds him of a butterfly, except probably the whole pink theme. He's never seen a pink butterfly before. A pink panther, sure, but not a pink butterfly.

"If you can't tell by now, I'm a fairy. Well, a love fairy to be exact."

"Okay, but fairies aren't actually a thing." Countered Gabriel. This must be some elaborate prank set up by his brother and Kyu. It's not a stretch to imagine the two in cahoots with each other.

"Boo! I'm dying! Aaahh!" Gabriel rolled his eyes at Kyu's dry "death" on the couch, wondering why the dog still isn't barking despite the presence of a stranger, and supposedly supernatural at that. Aren't animals supposed to be sensitive about these things?

"Besides, you had brown hair. Also, no wings."

"Clever disguise, right? I can change my hair to any color I want. It's pretty sweet." She explained, looking around for no particular reason. She seemed interested enough though, and is slowly fluttering around the kitchen in mild interest.

"Yeah, and so can like, I don't know, _any girl with enough money and access to the salon?_ " He deadpanned as his shaking slowly died out and his sips turned to swigs. "Or really, anyone with access to the proper materials needed? Like _everything ever made?_ "

Kyu looked at him incredulously, and laughed off the sudden rudeness of her charge, chalking it off as something that came with the whole revelation thing. She's had much worse come her way before. Then again, not a lot of people really posed a danger to her. It's either they didn't take her too seriously until later on, in which she has enough good rep to make her case, or she was taken seriously from the get-go, and is met with enthusiastic cooperation at best, and crazy obsessive curiosity at worst. Easily rectified.

That, and well, she can't blame him either. In a world where the existence of the supernatural is outright rejected and made solely for entertainment, it's quite a bitter pill to swallow, especially for the more...skeptical clients in the populace. At least this time, the skepticism is fuelled with genuine doubt and inquiry, and not some deluded rejection of reality by clinging to their old comfortable beliefs. Humans tend to do that.

A part of her still wished that Gabriel leaned on the "happy" side of the spectrum though. If it was _her_ that was awakened in the middle of the night by a _totally hot fairy chick_ , then clothes will fly, no questions asked. His skepticism is healthy though, so she supposed he deserved some credit.

"Oh c'mon, you know I'm real enough to not be a wet dream. I mean seriously, at this point, telling yourself that all this is just a dream is just the same as that drunk guy trying to convince everyone he isn't drunk. It only makes you look stupid. And funny too, I guess." She chuckled as she settled in front of him, taking a cup of tea for herself. As she sipped on the hot drink, she noticed him keep on looking around, as if looking for something. He craned his neck in an effort to increase his sense of perception, but nothing came of it.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm looking for my dog."

Oh that's right, Kyu remembered, he had a dog. A lot of animals, particularly dogs and cats and birds and such, have this uncanny ability to sense the supernatural around them even though their object of interest is outside the realm of the five senses. Their animalistic instincts tell them that an unnatural—or natural, depending on your point of view—being is within the area, and as such, this puts them in a state of unrest. After all, all beings with a survival instinct fear the unknown in varying degrees.

Which is why Kyu suddenly grew concerned over Gabriel's statement. The dog should've detected her by now; she might've been able to sneak through it earlier, but she has lingered for around quarter an hour now, the dog should be barking at least. Dogs are notorious for their strong ability to detect things not just with their noses.

Regardless, Kyu noticed Gabriel's unrest and decided to address the problem. It would not do for them to get behind schedule, especially at the first day, or rather night, of meeting. That's just unprofessional, and Kyu's one professional love-maker. _In both ways. At both sides._

"Well, probably the guy's a deep sleeper. Or probably it just doesn't give a shit. After all, what kind of self-respecting pet would not like it's master to get laid?" She playfully jabbed as both finished their herbal drink. It seems that Gabriel enjoyed it far more than the pink fairy did, but perhaps it was just a personal preference.

The young man shrugged. He didn't know what he was expecting, and Kyu's answer _did_ make sense. So he sighed and just went along with it. After another small bout of silence, Kyu made a thought known.

"You know, you don't seem to be confused or anything." She said, carefully observing him as he absentmindedly stared into the night.

"Well, I just came out of deep sleep, so info's kinda touch-n'-go at the moment." He admitted as he looked back at her and shrugged, getting the warm cups off the table and into the sink. Running water took over the airwaves as they continued to remain silent in their interaction, preferring the solitude the night brings. At least, that's how it is at Gabriel's side.

Not to Kyu it seems, because as soon as Gab finished washing the cups, she walked over to him and firmly called out his name.

"Alright, alright, let's start from the beginning. _Again._ " Kyu rolled her eyes at that. As much as she welcomed her charge's lack of bewilderment, she, and by extension him, ran on a tight schedule. They had _no_ _time to waste_.

"Okay, so begin with the reason. Why are you here? Love fairy, was it? And how about that brown-haired-human-form of yours? Explain it to me all in detail." Gabriel finished as he went for the stairs. As expected, the pink fae stopped him in his tracks. Before she can open her mouth to stop him, Gabriel held up his hand to explain.

"I'm just gonna go for a change of clothes. Whatever all this is, I think it'll be much more than what I can handle in a single night, so a good night's walk should do both of us some good. Besides, we don't want the muggles waking up to our little secret, do we?"

With that, he climbed the stairs with surprising finesse, his footsteps somehow making no noise in the silent midnight air.

* * *

 **"Your hunch has proven correct, my lord. What shall we do?"**

 **"Now...now we wait. Continue your mission. Follow them, and warn me on any sudden news. Keep your reports to a weekly basis, negotiations are becoming...untidy recently. And as always, _never_ let your presence be known."**

 **"As you wish, my lord."**

* * *

"You see, as a love fairy, it's my duty to help poor saps like _you_ out with the ladies. It's just, mm, what I do."

Gabriel nodded dismissively.

"I don't like to brag, but I'll have you know I have a very impressive track record. All my previous clients are basically walking babe magnets now."

The chirping of birds caught Gab's interest as he turned to face the flying swallows. Every country seems to have them, he thought.

Kyu's throat-clearing brought his attention back to her. Hopefully she's done advertising now.

"Let's just say you will be my _greatest accomplishment yet_." She enthused, watching him closely for any sort of reaction. All she got in response is a dismissive grunt as he inhaled deeply, relishing the fresh night air. It wasn't that windy, yet there is enough wind to rustle the trees a bit. The clouds are missing in the night sky, allowing the brighter stars to shine through the purple veil above them. It's grandest guest, the moon, floated above them in it's seemingly perfect round shape, lazily cruising through the skies. In contrast to the peaceful atmosphere, the city itself still remained alight in the night, orange lights illuminating the dark surroundings. Occasionally, a car or two passes by the two walking pedestrians, but nothing out of the usual presented itself.

"Hey. Pay attention. This is for _you_ , you know?" Kyu impatiently reminded, tapping her foot at the now stationary Gabriel. Sighing, she let him take in the sights in rapt adoration as she herself thought back to that house. A few times during her small reconnaissance mission through the medium-sized residence, she felt the strong feeling of _something_ watching her every move. And that's not all. It felt as if whatever it was that observed her _followed her through the house_ , as she felt it's presence appear and disappear at random times. Yet when she reached Gabriel's, or rather, his family's room, the pressure being exerted on her suddenly disappeared, as if nothing was actually haunting her at the first place.

She never realized it back then, but thinking about it now...

"You know, you look cute when you're thinking like that." Kyu raised her head to see Gabriel inches away from her face, a small blush obvious on his features despite the gold-like hue of the lighting around them. Deciding to leave the topic alone for now, she decided to return the favor with her own mischief.

"Whoa now, getting smooth here, champ? Niiiiice." At that, Gabriel quickly turned away, embarassment filling his cracking voice.

"N-wh-wait, that was-no, that-hey! STOP LAUGHING!" He blurted out rather loudly, a few roosted birds flying away in distress.

"Ah, whoo! You should've seen the look on your face!" Kyu chortled at the expense of the blushing Gabriel, who is now nervously looking around for any witnesses to his crime.

"Hey, hey, keep it down! Someone might see you!" He panicked. Quickly, he tossed his palm over Kyu's mouth to keep it shut. After a few more moments of muffled laughter and chortling, Kyu finally managed to settle down and revert back to a more serious yet casual state.

"Eh, nobody's around at this time of the night. Besides, even if they see me, which I doubt they would, they'll just think this is just another fetish by some _adventurous_ people. Namely, you and me." Kyu pointed to herself, then back to him. Before her companion could retort, she cut him off and continued.

"It's called the spotlight effect. The belief that others are paying more attention to our appearance and behavior than they really are." She quoted, as if reading from some book. Gabriel gave her a flat look and a sigh. His raised finger Kyu'd (heh.) her in on another argument, so she cut him off once again.

"Look. I know you have low self-esteem issues and shit, but the first _crucial_ step, the _first fundamental thing_ you have to learn, not just in the romantic scene but even outside that, is to stop giving a fuck. Come, I know a lounge that's open pretty much all night. We've got _a lot_ of things to discuss."

Dragging off the protesting youth into the night, Kyu didn't notice a particularly busty blonde observing the two from afar, smoking as she did. Shrugging the strange sight off, Jessie entered the bar for the fourth time, with her fourth date taking the lead.

* * *

 **AN: As always, thanks for reading, stick around and if you've got some thoughts in mind, drop a review and let me know! Next chapter's gonna feature Kyu training our romantically inept protagonist Gabriel in the ways of flirting and romance through his language: games. See you there!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I'm one lazy asshat. By the way, I altered real-life names and brands and stuff. It just felt uncomfortable to be just typing them out and sticking them to a story that has nothing to do with them but examples and references. Yeah.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Huniepop isn't mine.**

* * *

 _Previously, last chapter..._

 _"Look. I know you have low self-esteem issues and shit, but the first_ _crucial_ _step, the_ _first fundamental thing_ _y ou have to learn, not just in the romantic scene but even outside that, is to stop giving a fuck. Come, I know a lounge that's open pretty much all night. We've got_ _a lot_ _of things to discuss."_

 _Dragging off the protesting youth into the night, Kyu didn't notice a particularly busty blonde observing the two from afar, smoking as she did. Shrugging the strange sight off, Jessie entered the bar for the fourth time, with her fourth date taking the lead._

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Learning the Ropes**

* * *

The late-night romance is in full swing as the _Midnight Cruise_ , a seaside lounge atop a cliff, bustled with activity. Couples of various degrees filled the resto as the people, most often in pairs, mingled in various ways. Young adults flirted with each other, with some pinching and skin contact, while a few elderly held hands and gazed at each other's eyes, telling stories and reminiscing about each other's past...and future together. A few married couples were also in attendance, though noticeably more than a half of them consisted of lovers making up (or trying thereof). Thankfully, what few remained of these wedded individuals sweetly fed each other, blissfully lavishing each other in love without a care in the world. And inside this heterogenous mix of Venus's cup sat a pair of persons...more accurately, a human and a fairy, the former holding his smartphone in front of him with a look of slight irritation, while the latter looked on as her human date dubiously assessed the situation at hand, much to her amusement.

"So you're telling me..." Gabriel looked at Kyu suspiciously, looking back and forth between Kyu and his phone, on which a match-3 grid is present. His face slowly contorted into a frown as he continued to look at the two irregularities in front of him. One of them is currently smiling at him, barely moving except for her eyes, which studied him closely, as if sizing him up. The other anomaly, meanwhile, is staring back at him as it played it's background tune. He had to admit though. The music fit the scene.

"...that playing this...Candy-Rush clone of a game will solve my romance problem?" He asked dubiously. There were four types of tokens to match as far as he can see, as well as what looked like power-ups to help him achieve the target goal. The purple ones are _obviously_ bad news based on their symbol (a broken heart) and their coloration. The rest are bright-colored and are rather cheerful with the vibe that they give. Talk about subtlety.

"You bet they will! Since you seem to be the nerdy type, I think you can handle that yourself. As for me, I'm going to go get something for a bit. Don't run away!" Gabriel shook his head as Kyu sashayed away.

"...What am I saying, _of course_ you won't run away." She gave him a smirk before going towards a waiter, asking for what seemed to be directions. Shaking his head once again, Gab returned his attention to the black, rectangular device sitting on his hands. The low tone of the game's music continued to play in the background as he fixed the sleeves of his brand-new polo. Kyu surprised him earlier that night, just before they went here, saying that he should wear his current get-up-polo, pants, shoes-to their destination.

Right before shoving him into a bush.

To be honest though, he didn't feel any malice or bad intentions from the self-proclaimed fairy. Maybe she's crazy, but when it comes down to it, she seems to be a pretty nice girl. Or maybe _he's_ gone crazy. Or maybe both. Or probably it's just a fairy thing.

 _"Whatever, no use thinking about it now. It's not as if I can change the situation regardless."_

* * *

 **I have managed to sneak in successfully into the establishment.**

 **The eccentric Fae has not managed to detect my presence in the area.**

 **Good.**

 **I must bring back evidence.**

 **I must bring back data for surveillance and study.**

 **I must bring back data for intelligence.**

* * *

"Okay, whoa, _what was that?_ " Kyu shivered as she sat inside the cubicle, clutching her Huniebee in her right hand nervously. That feeling of being hunted reappeared as she just pulled out the teddy bear and it's complement plastic bag. She grasped the device even tighter as she felt her heartbeat rise...

And the presence to go away. Much like earlier in Gab's house, it just appeared and disappeared out of nowhere, as if it was made of thin air. Whatever, or _whoever_ that was...

"I've been watching too many thriller movies lately." Kyu sighed.

"This is what I get for watching a stimulating movie without somebody to fuck with. All this energy's making me _crazy._ " She chastised herself as she fixed her red strapless suit. Flatten a crease here, dust off a leaf there...

"I'm done. Time to get back to work." Shaking off the sudden stimulation, Kyu walked out of the room as she ran her hand through her currently brown hair, a bright smile stretched across her face.

* * *

Returning from her short trip to the restroom, Kyu returned to an interesting scene unfolding in front of her. Seated still on their place is Gabriel, his focus fully directed on the matte mobile in his hands. The full-force glare he was giving the phone as he played humored her greatly; surely, if eyes have drills, he would probably be in China right now. He also seemed to have darkened in skin tone _just a bit_ , not that that's wrong or anything.

 _"It's just the lighting, Kyu. Geez."_

Chuckling at her newfound paranoia, Kyu sashayed back to their seat, her hips moving like coursing water, drawing the attention of any male in a small area around her. The subtle release of Hunie didn't help their case, and the angry glares their date was giving them aggravated things further. Strangely enough, Gab seemed to just shrug it off, as if it were nothing but pink dust littering the atmosphere.

 _"Hmm, weird. I'll have to go check my Hunie jars later."_

While it is commonplace for faeries of all kinds, love faeries specially, to use their respective dust appointments in their affairs, it is not entirely necessary for the faeries to do their jobs; that is to say, it's just an accessory. Unlike back then in the Middle Ages, magic isn't as prevalent as it once was, and thus Faeries dust came both in short supply and weaker effectiveness. This one-two punch to the Fairy ordnance meant that they need to rely both on artifacts (that is, tangible items to use instead of actual magic), stealth, and science in order to survive in the modern world. Though not all supernatural circles suffered such damage, this also meant that the Faeries are now much more involved in science than they once were. At least they are more updated and powerful now than, say, the trolls and their lot.

"So, how's it going, bud?" Kyu greeted him as she stood beside him. That seemed to snap him out of his daze as he looked up to her.

"I think I got what you're trying to say." The fairy opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off by him as he _stood up and dragged her away_. This shocked Kyu, who prided herself in her ability to read people and the way they think. This is unexpected development coming from the portly man. Unique? Hardly, but she didn't expect him to get the whole point _this_ fast. She was away 10 minutes tops. For a guy to reach to a conclusion in that short a time span suggests an underlying impressive intelligence in the works. Of course, that depends if what he says is actually correct. For all she knew, she might've told her that the solution to seducing a girl is bragging about your high score in Candy Rush.

They came to a stop at the edge of the lounge's open-space dining area, which is right at the edge of the a cliff. Leaning on the steel railing, Gabriel turned to her as he pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist as he did so. Kyu chuckled at the unconscious moves he's been putting out; telling him about it now would ruin the moment.

"See here, the four colors represent four types of Affection Points you get, right? Flirtation, Romance, Talent, Sexuality?" Kyu nodded as the rather serious man turned back to the phone screen. The Affection Meter was left at just a bit short of full, with the Moves counter on 15 and the Sentiment counter at 10.

"These represent what kind of interaction I do with the girl and how they affect my overall success chances." He said, zooming in on each of the four colors.

"The green stars represent Flirtation, which means that when I talk to my date, I should tease lightly, pay compliments and generally be an interesting and fun guy." He turned to her. Getting a nod as a reply, he moved on.

"The orange crescents represent Romance. This means that when I take this girl out on a date, I should lean more on the, pardon the term, 'sappy' compliments and generally more serious and heavier attempts at connecting with her." Kyu nodded once again, a smile dawning on her face.

"The blue musical notes represent Talent. As the name implies, this means that with this girl I should show off a bit, showcase my skills and talents and all that. Cockiness optional, practice essential." Kyu gave him a thumbs-up. He learns fast, doesn't he?

"The red tears represent Sexuality. With these ones, I should be more bold and forthcoming to my urges, and load my complements with as much sexual innuendo as I can get away with, provided they are received warmly. Double entendres optional, recommended even. Humor is sexy." With that, Gabriel locked the phone's screen and tucked it in his pocket.

"Picking the right one as the situation calls it greatly increases my chances, though this does not mean that I have to repeat the same approach all the time. In fact, it is not recommended to do so, for it promotes habituation and boredom, and it's not an option all the times, as shown by the grid's programming to mix up the tiles falling. Joy tokens, the bell ones, symbolize the overall happiness and good mood of the girl I'm with. Obviously, the happier she is, the longer will she want the date to go on and as thus I have more 'moves' available for me to utilize. The Sentiment teardrops represent, well, sentiment. With the gifts that you can use with these built-up tension, I can influence the date to a great degree. I can either set up a supposed insensitivity-which is, by the way, the purple broken-hearts-only to drop on them a gift, which could mean anything really. It could be a story empathizing with the girl, turning the former offenses into a ground for connection, or a-"

"Hey teacher, teacher!" Kyu mimicked a kid as she raised her arms-Gabriel noted she has perfect skin-and bounced a little. He found the action cute, but knowing her, showing any sign of endearment is another bullet coming at him later on, so he bit his lip.

"What is it?" He answered her, straight-faced. The poker face is obviously forced, but there is _no way_ he's giving her any more bullets. The ones she had are enough.

"What about the passion meter?" The fairy-in-disguise grinned at her charge as he instantly returned to Sherlock-mode, as she so dubbed mentally. She found the expression rather amusing. It's an endearing point, and could be used to his advantage...though not all girls might appreciate this gesture.

"Well, my precious student," He chuckled, earning him the same reaction from his mentor. "the passion meter symbolizes the 'passion' that the girl is currently experiencing with me. That is to say, the 'emotion' factor in the trifecta of love. By the way, do you know this phenomenon? I'm sure you do." Gabriel smiled, this time caused by him genuinely having fun.

 _"_ This _is how you have a date, Gab."_ Kyu smiled to herself, patting him on the back for a job well done. He isn't so bad with talking itself as he is with his self-worth. That is to say, he has an unconscious fear of rejection caused by his low view of himself and his esteem. No matter what he says, he'll always be misinterpreted and rejected not because he's not interesting, but because he lacks one critical thing in winning over the opposite sex.

Confidence.

Clapping her hands, she snapped Gabriel out of his intellectual trance and cocked her head to the side.

"Thanks for the lecture, prof. Learned stuff real good." The two of them stared at each other for a bit, and then burst out laughing, surprising a few other customers on their seats.

"But seriously though, nice work. It seems i don't need to tutor you on this shit." Kyu winked, jabbing him lightly at the shoulder. Gab faked a pained reaction, causing the fairy to crack a smile once again.

"And to be honest? This has been an actually good date, I'd say." Gabriel suddenly grabbed her forearms, surprising her a bit. His eyes are widened, and his body is leaned slightly inwards. She felt a bit invaded in her personal space, but she shrugged it off.

"Really? No kidding? I'll seriously bump you if you're pulling my leg." He asked, eager for affirmation. It was this kind of behavior that she frowned upon, but she supposed she can let it slide. It's his first time after all, and his is especially good anyways.

"Well, yeah...just avoid this."

"What 'this'?"

"What you're doing."

"..."

"Right now."

"Oh, sorry. Hehehe..." Gabriel leaned back to his seat, scratching the back of his head. Kyu gave him an understanding smile as she gave his hand a squeeze.

"It's okay. Just try to keep it together in front of other girls, okay?" Expecting an enthusiastic nod from the eager youth, Kyu started to worry as he suddenly became quiet, and his posture slumped. It's as if he realized something which made him sad. Damn issues.

"I just realized that..." He looked up to her, anxiety written all over his face as he gave her a sad smile. "...that the reason I managed to pull this all off is that I'm comfortable around you, so...yeah..." Kyu kept silent as he continued.

"It's funny, huh? It's not even been a full day since we've met and here I am, being all chummy and buddy-buddy with you. I guess I'm being obnoxious for a while now..."

 _"It's the Hunie, man. And the only time you've been obnoxious since we've met is when you're whining like a little bitch, right here, right now."_ Kyu replied, but kept her piece to herself. She has to let him finish venting out his frustration, or else it might make things even worse. Right now, he's opening up to her. This is good actually; it makes him genuine and human, but right now he doesn't know how to control and use it to his advantage, so that lesson's for another day.

After a long period of silence, a waiter approached them with their order. It seems that Gabriel ordered them some food while she was away.

"Don't worry, I'll pay for it." He smiled, waving his wallet. After pocketing it however, his frown returned as he looked at the floor, ashamed at messing up a good time.

Kyu's not having any of that. Someone needs to put the law down on this boy.

"Look." Kyu's expression hardened as she grabbed Gabriel at the shoulders, surprising him. The waiter awkwardly looked on at the event in front of him, and unknown to the two customers, the other people around them has also stopped to watch the unfolding drama in front of them. Kyu realized that the public is looking at the two of them right now, making Gabriel sink down even further, but did not let it stop her and instead gave his shoulders a mighty squeeze as she barked at him.

"STAND UP, SOLDIER!"

The sudden command jolted Gabriel. So unexpectedly did the order come from the fairy that he rocketed up from his seat, his back ramrod straight as he felt Kyu's arm slide off. She didn't have that long of a reach.

"Look, it's only **YOU** that ruins your chances, man. You're awesome, funny, kind, and you're not half-bad-looking either. Never mind you're fat. Never mind that you feel inferior and emotionless. Never mind that you make things sound dry and bland yet make it interesting at the same time. You're you, and you've got your charms, and you've got your wits. Don't throw that all away just because you've got issues with yourself. Just take a deep breath, and leap in. Don't be afraid of what other people might say or think about you, and _be yourself_. But at the same time, take care of yourself! Work out, buy new clothes, everything! Don't throw away your life just because you _think_ you're not worthy. You _are,_ and it's up to **YOU** to make the most of it."

Clap.

Clap clap.

"Wha-" Kyu looked around as she saw people all around standing up and giving her a round of applause. One even hooted, and she heard a "Kiss her! Kiss her!" somewhere in the background. She felt somewhat embarassed by the attention, but she turned around to Gabriel. _He_ is the one she's doing all this for, and it's _his_ reaction that matters to her now. He is still looking down at the ground, his face hidden by his hair.

"What'cha gonna do now, boy? KISS HER ALREADY!" Another background audience shouted at them. Kyu didn't mind, but-

"It's easy to say that, yeah. But frankly? Frankly, I'd rather take it slow. Baby steps. I'm no daredevil, and no way in hell can I take a leap that big and expect my sanity to survive, but..." He looked up, but this time his face had a mischievous smirk strapped on, his eyes promising fun and adventure.

"Why don't we get outta here?" He offered his hand. Kyu noticed it's still rather reserved in it's length, but this time...

His hands are wide open, without any reservations.

Progress!

" _That's_ what I like to hear!" The two laughed as they ran to the stairs, jumping off as they shouted the night away. As they took off, they did not hear a voice follow them.

"Um sir, ma'am, your food..." The waiter's voice faded as he picked up the cash under the untouched plate.

* * *

"It's funny how such a simplistic game can explain something so complicated and actually make sense."

The man and the fairy crashed on the former's couch as they reached home, buzzed from drinks they bought from the convenience store. Well, _he_ bought, to be accurate. Apparently, Kyu has convinced him to buy the both of them a round of beer in exchange for curing his "limp-dick syndrome", so said the fairy. Gabriel scoffed at the term, mildly insulted, but he couldn't blame her. After all, a man has to be decisive in his decisions, and hiding under the guise of "careful deliberation" in order to mask fear and anxiety is by no means manly. One has to risk something to gain something after all.

So Gabriel conceded. He found the cashier asking for an ID a new experience, for back at home, he never had to present any. Back there, it is not uncommon for fathers to order their children to buy beer for them as they drank with their friends, so nobody asks when a child gets a whole bucket or more of beer and pays with big bills. Still, he thought of it to be quite a hassle, especially when one is in a hurry. And with Kyu renting a motorcycle in the middle of the night, and the sleep-deprived employee waiting outside the store, he had to act fast. Until now, it still concerned him that the middle-aged man who delivered them the motor is not concerned whatsoever with a couple of youths drinking as they went on a late night road trip. He just...went off. Just like that. Not saying a thing excluding standard protocol "sign your name here" and "have a good ride".

Yet even as they drove around town, with Kyu shouting hilariously behind him, he can't bring his mind away from the game Kyu had him to play: Huniepop. For something as simple as a match-3, it made ridiculous amount of sense. Provided one keeps in mind that the categories stated in the game are generalizations and are not meant to be followed to the letter, it's a pretty good bite-sized lesson on what you should do in a date. Severely lacking of course, but the gist is there, and that made things okay.

To be honest though, he very much enjoyed the ride around town. Not only was he able to map out the area, he also felt the wind rush into his face as a beautiful girl hugged him from behind, her breasts very much pressing on his back. Kyu had him worried a few times, especially when she would raise both her hands in the air and shout stupid things like "I'M THE QUEEN OF SKY GARDEN!" or some other _chuuni-_ like behavior (1). Then again, _she is a fairy_ , so it might not be far-fetched to think she might be royalty or some other high-level authority in the fairy hierarchy. Then the questions started to spout forth within him. Do fairies have a government? How many types and kinds of fairies are there? Are fairy diets similar to human food? Or do they only need to sip nectar or something? Do other fairies also help with maintenance?

Yet as he turned around to ask her, his mind was silenced by Kyu's incessant laughing. It could wait, he guessed.

"Cool, right? I'm supposed to explain that stuff to you as you played but seeing as you already know your shit, I guess you're ready for the real thing." She smiled at him as she said that. Right at that moment, the sun rose from the horizon and into the sky, bathing the room in a gentle blue glow.

"Uh...yeah? Sure, I guess, but could we rest for a bit? I need to take a bath and everything. And you stole my freaking sleep time!" Gabriel exclaimed, laying his head down on Kyu's lap, who is slouched deep into the sofa.

"Don't mind?"

"Yeah."

Taking a peek at his mentor's face, Gabriel reached for the remote control and tossed it over to Kyu, accidentally bonking her on the head. The pair looked at each other, and then laughed heartily for a good while.

When they finished, Gabriel stood up and went for the kitchen, hoping to make himself and Kyu a sandwich-juice combo. Standard snack, no sweat. Kyu then opened the TV as she flipped through the channels, looking for something that isn't news.

"You know, it would do you good to watch human world news. Being informed is being conformed, so they say." Gabriel commented as he returned with two plates in hand, giving one to Kyu.

"Juice is on the table. Go pick it up yourself if you want."

"Thanks. Oh, by the way Mister Slick, what'll you do when your mom comes down? What'cha gonna say? We banged and I'm your new girl? Eh? Eh?" Kyu nudged him with her elbow as they contentedly ate their sandwiches. Gabriel considers himself to be a pretty humble person, but you can't take away from him the fact that he knows how to make good sandwiches.

"Not a bad idea, wanna do it?" He returned Kyu's tease with a smirk as he leaned into her. In a way, he considered this to be a test drive, to see if he isn't being a creep should he ever have to resort to such advances. Thankfully, Kyu seemed to be happy about this development, as she gave him a peck on the cheek. This time, he didn't feel any sort of clamming up, though his anxiety _did_ spike. Being kissed by an attractive girl tended to do that.

"Not bad, tiger! But slow down a bit, will ya? Even _I'm_ not _that_ easy." Kyu pushed him off gently as the two of them shared a chuckle in front of the news. Apparently, Gabriel snuck the control off her hands while she wasn't looking. Graceful bastard. "Who knows though, maybe when you've got that virginity off your face-"

The man in question cringed a bit. Is being a virgin _that_ bad?

"-maybe, just maybe, we can... _hang out_." The fairy winked, causing Gabriel to finally flush in embarassment. He can't flirt _that_ good yet, but he shows both potential and will. This one'll be a pussy slayer someday. Soon.

"Alright, alright, let's can it just there, missy." Gabriel laughed nervously. He had to stop this now, or he might just do something overboard and wake up in fairy jail. Kyu's great and all, but baby steps. Baby steps. Though he learned a lot the previous night from Kyu, that doesn't mean he'll just jump off a cliff with wild abandon. It only means that he'll actually start to walk now and not just fantasizing about having a girlfriend. This time, with the help of this...perverted fairy, he'll snag a girl someday.

...That sounded wrong, even in his head.

"But y'know Kyu? If there's one thing I learned today plus the previous night?"

"What is it?"

"It's that-"

 _Fairies are not what I think they are_ , is what he was about to say, but his eyes landed on her chest, and the opportunity arose.

"-you've got a _fairy_ ample chest."

Neighbors would then awaken from the sound of a guy screaming early in the morning as a certain pink fairy bombarded him with enough dust to mimick the Great Dust Bowl, pink version. Yet none of them is as lucky as that guy, for while he is screaming now, it will not be long before it will be a girl's throes of pleasure will replace his apparent call for help. Yep, starting today, Gabriel's love life begins.

* * *

 **Next Chapter Teaser:**

"We can go to UOG, the Park, Turtle Bay Beach, Bar'n'Lounge, the nearby Cafe, the Club, the Mall, or the Gym. What would it be?"

"I choose...SANDWICH!"

...

"Fuck you, Gab."

"Can't we just do this the _organic_ way?"

* * *

(1) _chuuni- =_ Short-hand for "Chuunibyou". Also known as: pubescent crisis, fourteen sick, hebephrenic (teenage) schizophrenia, middle school 2nd year syndrome.

 _Chuunibyou_ describes teenagers around the age of fourteen that try to look cool to impress people around their age and are self-important trying to be unique. This way of thinking, however, may continue even after the teen reaches adulthood, but it **does not** actually relate to any medical condition or mental disorder. It's more like a growth phase for some teenagers.

Based on "Chuunibyou User Manual" (中二病取扱説明書, Chuunibyou Toriatsukai Setsumei Sho) by Saegami Hyouya, there are 3 types of chuunibyou.

 **DQN-type** pretends to be antisocial even though they aren't, or can't be and has made-up stories about antisocial behavior (gang fights/crime).

 **Subculture-type/Hipster** prefers subculture or minor trends just to be different and have the "cool" factor. (obsessed with imitating idols/fictional characters)

 **Evil Eye-Type** admires mystical powers and pretends to have one of their own, to the extent of establishing an alias just for that.

An example of **DQN Chuunibyou** :

"Look at all those bandages wrapped around you! What happened?"

"I had a bunch of gang fights."

"Come on, I know you're too kind to be a gangster."

An example of **Subculture Chuunibyou** :

"When I collect Pokémon cards, I only collect ones that are imported from Japan."

"Can you read all those?"

"-_-; S-sure I can..."

An example of **Evil Eye Chuunibyou** :

"Don't take that bandana off my left wrist. It's sealing an evil spirit inside me and if you take it off I may go berserk."

"Dude, calm down. You just have chuunibyou."

 **AN: Keep in mind that this phenomenon is documented in the Japanese culture and context, which may or may not be compatible enough with Western culture to determine a case as being "chuunibyou". Secondly, having chuunibyou isn't bad...so long as you don't engage in it in excess. Like, just take it easy man. Don't lose your head over it.**

* * *

 **And there's a wrap! Yay? or nay? Character development too fast? Or too slow? OOC or spot on? Better writing or worse? Tell me your thoughts in the review section or a PM and as always, thanks for reading and see you next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Review Response Section:**

 **KRT215: Glad you're having fun. Thanks for the support!**

 **Cypher DS (response to chapter 3 review): I tend to do that, yeah. Dunno why I can't keep the tenses consistent. Probably because I keep typing out which sounds better more than which is grammatically correct. About "Claszureme", well...I was making a reference; sadly, no one seems to have gotten it :(. Ah well, no big deal. Anyways, thanks for the support!**

 **Cypher DS (response to chapter 4 review): Thanks for the compliment! Upon reading it now, yeah. I notice that the term "heterogenous", while it works on the definition level, it also definitely jarring and technical to be there.**

 **I kinda intended that effect to portray that while Gab is indeed intelligent and has an idea on what to do, it's not _what_ he's capable of to be the problem, but rather _who_ he is and _how_ he deals with people, how he has to adjust in order to fit in society more accordingly. It's also a hook, if you will, so that the reader's thoughts will be on Gab because in this chapter the focus will be on him and how he tries to _apply_ whatever sense he managed to achieve with Kyu last night. Hope it worked out as well as I planned it to be.**

 **I also enjoyed writing out that part, the whole immigrant experience thing. I mean, it just made sense for a newly arrived immigrant to be culture shocked, flexible as he may be, and in that case cultural comparisons are unavoidable. These comparisons then are both entertaining and sensible to watch. It's a satisfying and fulfilling experience, really.**

 **Review Writer: I feel the first two chapter can do with a rewrite (those were attempts to write out 1P POV, which is how I wrote when I started writing, but I guess I fit 3P POV better). Thanks for the support!**

 **Jessie: lol.**

 **gaffro: Thanks for the support, man.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Huniepop isn't mine.**

* * *

 _Previously, last chapter..._

 _'Fairies are not what I think they are', is what he was about to say, but his eyes landed on her chest, and the opportunity arose._

 _"-you've got a 'fairy' ample chest."_

 _Neighbors would then awaken from the sound of a guy screaming early in the morning as a certain pink fairy bombarded him with enough dust to mimick the Great Dust Bowl, pink version. Yet none of them is as lucky as that guy, for while he is screaming now, it will not be long before it will be a girl's throes of pleasure will replace his apparent call for help. Yep, starting today, Gabriel's love life begins._

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Testing the Waters**

* * *

It's 5 in the morning at the Sabueso household and everyone asleep has started to wake up. The ethereal blue glow of the rising sun passed through the windows, producing streaks of sunlight as they lit the quaint indoors. Specks of dust floated in the air as they lazily trekked through the atmosphere, and accompanying them are the sounds of an early morning; birds chirping, dogs barking, families waking, toasters pinging, and all other noises associated with suburban dawn. That being said, all those sounds went unnoticed as the already awake duo in the living room huddled around a coffee table, devising a brilliant master scheme.

 _Getting all that pussy._

"Well, thanks to us skipping our little lesson," Kyu announced as she went over the details of her plan, which is safely secured in Gabriel Sabueso's phone. "We are actually _ahead_ of schedule. So yeah, we can just chill out for a bit. But before that, I got something to tell you. Did you finish the Huniepop tutorial yet?" The fairy asked. Gabriel blinked in surprise then shook his head as he pulled out the phone from within his pocket. Unlocking the screen, it showed the game as it was the night before: one centimeter away from victory.

"Well? Finish it."

It only took half a second and a single swipe for the experienced gamer to finish off the map. It didn't even register in his mind that he did so until he looked at the screen after taking a bite, in which the 2D girl disappeared and is replaced by a menu reminiscent to Bou or some other virtual pet games. Although, on closer inspection...

"Girl Finder? Girl Profile? _What the fuck_ , Kyu? This is some stalker-level shit right here!" Gabriel exclaimed in a hushed voice as he carefully inspected the tabs of "Huniepop". The title itself changed, he noticed, and it now read "HunieBee 4.0".

 _"Wow, it even has versions, and this is the fourth one."_

Save for the two... _questionable_ tabs on the western wing of the menu, everything else seems pretty generic and safe. The Inventory, Store, Map, Mail, and Traits aren't exactly uncommon, and are usually scene on some kid's phone in his or her game. Though since when did such management come with match-3?

He returned his stare to Kyu, who had leaned in closer to him while he wasn't looking. She then took his hand and positioned the phone just so that it came between them, and explained.

"This app, HunieBee, is an essential lifeline for any player on the go." She started, and at the same time Gabriel's eyebrows started to furrow. "It automatically registers the info of new girls you meet and can even track their location." This time, the suspicious man's left eyebrow raised as he slowly turned his head to face Kyu, who continues to speak like nothing's up. "You can organize your inventory, buy new gifts, upgrade your traits, it's awesome." His suspicious glare turned into a flat expression as he let the fairy finish her piece. He had a lot to say about the app itself: stalker-ish, slightly demeaning, artificial, a few other things...

But hey, if anything else, she said he can "organize his inventory" using the app. He sincerely hoped she meant he can store non-fairy stuff there. God knows all those college books are a pain in the back, and a hassle to carry if you ever needed to run or move fast.

"Techincally, we've got a lot of time to run through the app and discuss each one, but seeing as you're quite the techie yourself already, I don't think I need to walk you through on this one. You can figure it out." Kyu smiled, ignoring her charge's shocked reaction. Gabriel would've found it cute, had he been not still bothered by how... _creepy_ some aspects of the HunieBee is. Seriously, Kyu is like that big cookie tin can you always see hanging around in your grandma's house: you came for the cookies and you get _needles_.

Then again, Kyu is the helpful kind of needle. She's here to genuinely help him, and she doesn't seem to be lying about anything. Moreover, she's been open-minded and considerate in his ways through all this, yet still she supports him almost unconditionally...that single condition being her work.

Still, he thinks that even without the whole Love Fairy Contract and everything, he'll get along with her just fine...provided they did not meet when either one is in a bad mood. Come to think of it, how does Kyu get angry? The last time he had contact with anything remotely similar to the sort was when he teased her about her boobs, in which she hurled relatively massive amounts of neutral Hunie at him (poor guy), which thankfully faded away a few moments after contact.

Right after that realization, another surge of questions entered his mind. Isn't this thing lust and not love? If so, shouldn't she be called a lust fairy? Or at least desire fairy? What does she get in return for all this? Why did she accept the job? What other jobs could she have applied if not being a love fairy? Did she have a college degree? Do fairy societies function like humans'?

"Hmm...yeah, I think that's it for now. Got any questions?" Kyu looked at him as she noticed that he is once again deep in thought. After looking at the ground for a while, rubbing his chin, he looked back at her and spoke.

"So, we've got lots of time to waste, right?" Kyu nodded. "Then I hope to get some answers from you."

This surprised Kyu. Majority of her former clients have opted to not inquire about her background and the situation's background at all, instead opting to fully enjoy the blessing that they've been given. Though it is not exactly a bad decision to make, she had to admit; he had a point. A smart man would like to know what he is getting into, and while he wasn't able to question her back then in his room, he is certainly able to now. It's not like she's hiding anything, it's just that she preferred to give information on a need-to-know basis, for there are a _lot_ of things she knew about that the average person would find, at the very least, ridiculous.

But then again, Gabriel is one of, if not the most open-minded person she's had the pleasure of being a client since the tenure of her career. With what happened in the human world during the time of her existence, she did not find it strange at all. The years of 21st Century have become more and more progressive as they went by, though not without their own pitfalls. But what made Kyu most grateful of all is the fact that Gabriel actually thinks for himself. He doesn't wait for Kyu to spoonfeed him details and info and let her do most of the work. No, if anything, Gabriel seems to actually treat this as an educational experience. Fortunately for her, a lot of her clients have been like that, though not all are as...inquisitive.

"Yeah, sure. But before that," She stood up, stretching her legs and back. "Go do your morning rituals and meet me at the bus stop 6 AM, sharp." Kyu instructed him as she let loose her wings, which were magically stored in her body since last night. Her hair turned back to its natural pink gloss as she took her butterfly-motif hairpins from her bag. Tying up her hair into two pigtails, she then lightly tapped her dress, causing it to return to her default attire: the pink babydoll suit.

"Uh..." Gabriel stared at her as she fixed herself up with magic. The higher functions of his brain are jealous of the fact that she can change and get ready in an instant, while the ancient, "reptilian" part of his brain is peeved that her transformation did not involve her losing her clothes even for just a bit. It was disappointed that while her clothes did disappear and were replaced, they happened in an instant and whatever chance it had to peek was intercepted by pink lights covering her frame.

He then felt blood flowing downwards from his body.

"Hmm?" Kyu asked as she turned to face him, smiling cutely.

 _"No! I will not be fooled by this...girl!"_

"...uh, ahem." He cleared his throat, clearing his head. "Do I have no say in this?"

Kyu's eyebrow raised.

"I mean, I _kinda_ want to play some PC-"

"No." She rejected him firmly. "No more video games for now. You've been gaming all your life; it's time to give dating a chance." This raised _both_ of Gabriel's eyebrows as he processed what she has just said to him. It's not that she is forcing him to go (technically she is), but it's more of that she is telling him to, for once, stop _thinking_ about having a love life and _just do it_. It didn't matter to her that he lost or got rejected or anything, what mattered to her is that he actually _tried_.

Gabriel wondered if her goodwill is out of genuine concern or if she's just doing her job. Probably both, though he hoped to God that it was more on the former side of things. Nonetheless, she saw where she was coming from...and agreed.

That doesn't mean he can't sneak in a few minutes of game time though. It's his own personal form of meditation.

"Oh, and no fapping, okay?" Kyu winked, earning her another flat look from her charge.

"Alright, alright, lay off me." He chuckled as he stood up and popped his own set of bones.

 _"Ah, that felt good."_

"I'll see you in a bit. Probably a quarter to six, yeah?" Kyu shrugged, then nodded. It doesn't matter anyway; if he was late, she'll see him walking towards her location via the HunieBee tracker (hers was the Faerie edition, Admin access), so she can just run/fly up to meet him. If he decides to give up and flake on her, well, she can just pay him a visit and _fly him off his house_. It's a little known thing, but faeries can augment their strength with magic or, in love faeries' case, Hunie. Not only that, but they can make themselves faster, fly higher, cast magical spells, and even _control other people's minds_.

That takes, figuratively, a metric ton of Hunie, so nobody does it anyway (thankfully).

"Okay, no more questions?" Kyu turned to him one last time. He shook his head. "See ya!"

And with that, Kyu zoomed away as she flew through the window and into the sky, disappearing high into the air as she was consumed by the very pink lights that covered her form earlier. Damn, he wasn't able to peek-

 _"DAMMIT BRAIN!"_

Gabriel mentally chastised himself as he shook away the perverted things his mind kept making up about Kyu. Being who she is, he highly doubted that she will be offended. If anything, she'll probably, no, _definitely_ take it as a compliment and as a stick to tease him with. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled loudly, shaking off whatever shock he had leftover from the otherworldly affair he had just made last night.

Come to think of it, on what basis was he chosen by Kyu to be helped out? Is this nature's way of saying that he needed to get laid? What about the whole survival-of-the-fittest thing?

"Ugh..." The rather irate man sighed as all the stress pushed aside by the adrenaline last night crashed on him, hitting him on the head like a giant mallet. "I need to get a break. Something to do that doesn't involve thinking. Or anything that allows me to empty my head, really." He said to himself as he started to walk towards where his dog slept.

Where did that big guy go?

* * *

"Alright, let's get started. How many dates have you been on?" Kyu asked as they rode the bus to town. Apparently, Kyu had taken the initiative to return the bike they had borrowed last night in surprisingly mint condition. Gabriel had the suspicion that she's been using that "Hunie" again to take care of the problem. It's like a deus-ex-machina in powder form.

The rest of the people in the bus, however, did not share the same state of reflection as Gab did, as he can literally _feel_ the stares they're being given by the people. Most came from the kids going to school as he imagined them drooling over the opportunity of being with a girl as cute and hot as Kyu is. After all, the kids that are on the bus are early goers, and thus they most likely belong to the "lower caste" of the school hierarchy. Then again, at least it was just them. If it happened to be bullies who are riding with them, who knows what might've happened.

Gabriel continued to stare out the window as he heard his companion's inquiry. Deciding to mess with her a bit, he answered her with the blunt truth. It's funny how the truth works sometimes.

"Like...actual dates with physical girls?"

He had expected an outrage or something from the love fairy, but surprisingly she seems to handle it quite well. Well, hopefully she did. He had no way of knowing at the moment, since he's too busy enjoying the morning atmosphere. He enjoyed the morning wind greatly, and as a result his mood is going up in a steady pace, enough for him to ignore the occasional bumping of the bus from speed breakers. It was hard to get this kind of air in the metro where he used to live. If you woke up after 8-o'-clock, chances are the streets are already filled with PUJs (1), a lot of which are smoke belchers. He can't judge them too harshly about it though. Filters are expensive, and they're already living life by the day as it is. An optional upgrade can wait, their families came first. Besides, it's not just them; private vehicles also belched, though on vastly lower numbers. As far as he knows, the biggest offenders are jeepneys, tricycles (2), and big rigs.

Not that it's important at the moment.

He wondered how Kyu reacted to his answer. Turning around, he is surprised to find her answer to be nothing but a small frown, probably because he just made her job a little harder. Though who knows what's going on in that cutie's mind...

 _"Nah bro, I really don't think she's judging you right now. Well, yeah she's judging you, but what I mean is that she isn't thinking bad about you or anything. Not that you should care. Well you should, but what I mean is-"_

"Oh my God, it's worse than I thought, isn't it?" She replied. He felt worried there, as he didn't know how she thought of him yet, and he wanted to. Not because he is looking for her approval (once again, technically he does, but that's not the point he's making), but because he did not want to be misconstrued yet again. It happens so much on a daily basis it's basically just next to breathing. Well, not really, but it sure felt like so.

She then showed him a mischievous smile. Now Gabriel is _truly_ nervous.

"So _that's_ where all that Casanova moves came from. Eh, eh?" She elbowed him. Humored, Gabriel got off his early sightseeing and sat upright, turning to face her.

"Well, yeah, partially. Mostly what I did last night was analysis though, with a bit of intuition mixed in. Is that so bad?" Gabriel shrugged as he smiled at her. She looked cute in her casual attire: a simple shirt with simple shorts, her hair in its brown, swept back form.

"Not really." Kyu replied, her smile losing it's mischief as Gabriel sighed in relief. "But hey, here's the thing: If you want to meet a hot chick, _you gotta go where the hot chicks are._ "

Gabriel rolled his eyes. True, he should go to where the "hot chicks" are to get one, but the way she said it just sounds so...eh.

"I've done some scouting and I have a few ideas of where to start. It depends on what type of girls you're into." Gabriel looked around worryingly as he checked on whether or not anyone's hearing whatever Kyu's spouting at the moment. He had heard (seen, technically) from the Internet that the third wave feminism and SJWs and such are widespread among the populace and he didn't want to risk a confrontation. Not to say that he can't hold himself in a fight, physical or otherwise, but that fighting is such a waste of time. It's the main reason why he'd rather not "stand up" for himself in front of bullies and just walk away. It simply wasted his time; time that could've been used for more productive means. Mental energy wasted on keeping composure when it could've been used for creative ideas and concepts. Physical pain wasted on petty dick-measuring and pride fighting, when it could've been spent lounging on the couch or bed instead.

Nobody in his pre-college days seemed to get the memo. He wasn't a wimp; they just weren't worth his time. They weren't worth the effort exerted to maintain peace, and it made walking away all the more easier.

Yet sometimes...he finds himself lonely and thought that maybe, _just maybe_ , he is _actually scared_ and is just making excuses.

He sincerely hoped those thoughts weren't true.

Shoving the unpleasant thoughts aside, he returned his attention back to Kyu, who oddly stopped talking as she looked at him getting lost in thought. She made no comment on this, however, and continued talking as if nothing happened.

"We can check out the university, the gym, the park, or the nearby cafe. What would it be?" She asked. "I'd add the mall, but it opens at 10, and waiting for it to open is a waste of time."

 _"Well, duh."_ Gabriel retorted mentally as he reconsidered what she said. He wouldn't deny the fact that he is thrilled in the prospect of meeting new "hot chicks", and with so much variety. Back home, the "hot chicks" are most of the time the type of girls who are feminine, yet at the same time manage to be "cool" enough to hang out with "the boys". The type of girls that seem to have it all, the type of girls that manage to balance social life and academic life like Yin and Yang.

The "it" girls.

Sometimes, he just wonders how they can do that. Isn't it mentally and physically exhausting to keep up with _that_ much responsibility? Where's the time for yourself? For self-introspection? For self-care? He had the chance to be one of the "cool group" actually. More than once in fact. He just declined them all because it's such a hassle to keep yourself updated and go to all the events and parties you're socially pressured to attend. It's just so much...work. And it's not as if you're there for the fun too; mostly he wanted to play games all the time, or watch some anime or movie for the sake of _actually watching the movie_. Nine times out of ten those who invited him to the movies ended up making out a quarter of the movie, the next quarter humping, and the other half of the movie asleep as they missed the most exciting parts that he would've oh so much _loved_ to discuss with them. Naturally, when he started to fire rant after rant at them, a lot of them weren't able to keep up, and so gradually they lost interest in him. There were also a lot of genuinely fun-seeking people with him then, of course, but they decided that he may be too into that movie they just watched and they just wanted some two hours of brainless fun on the big screen.

Then there was the parties. Oh God, the parties. They would've been fun, if it weren't so goddamn _noisy_ , and people puking everywhere, and everyone making out or having sex in virtually every corner of the house the party is being held at. The other spectrum is much more welcome; back home, when someone threw a party, it is mostly about the occasion the party is being thrown about. If it's a birthday party, then the event revolved around the birthday person. If it's a graduation party, then it's about the graduation, and not about getting your hands into someone else's shirt. Despite that, he never felt any resentment for them, only...dismissiveness.

He honestly that pop culture is way too sexualized. They put _way_ too much emphasis on having sex and being "cool". Hell, they put the labels "weird" and "random" on so many things so quickly that they can't even interpret symbolism anymore. Take You!You!You! (3) for example. They had to be spoonfed to gain such knowledge. In that, he prided himself. Who needs small talk when you can read the person's social identity like a book? And without the hassle of personal contact too.

Amusingly, Kyu's presence seems to nullify his natural dismissiveness to social pursuits and actually made it seem _fun_. He doubted she can do such a thing if she was as gloomy and cold-cut as himself. Come to think of it, they're total opposites and yet they work out phenomenally well. Weird.

"Heh." Gabriel chuckled. "We're completely pulling the stops here, aren't we?"

Kyu replied with a smug grin as she shrugged, her hands in an "i don't know" expression. Seriously, she's so...bro, it's kinda weird. In a good way, at least.

"Hmm...how 'bout we drop by the cafe first? I want to have a cup of coffee." The young protege offered as the bus stopped to drop a student off. He peeked out to who it was; eh, nobody from the neighborhood that he knew of. Probably some guy on a rendezvous.

"Yeah, sure. Been quite a while since I've had a cup of coffee myself." The fairy nodded as she let her eyes wander around her.

"Wait. Can't you guys just sprinkle some Hunie on water and get a Fairy drink or something?"

Kyu facepalmed.

* * *

The Nutmeg Cafe bathed in an aroma of coffee beans as the duo entered the store. Patrons are scattered, all different in their manner as the sun continued it's trek into the morning sky. Students can be seen rushing through heaps of papers and books as their eyes darted throughout their tables. Writers typed away with mug in hand, occasionally stopping for a quick sip-n'-brainstorm break, while a few seemingly lolling people drank their coffee in bliss, oblivious to all the world as they closed their eyes in ecstacy. Quite a few characters are out of the norm he expected, such as what seemed to be a punk, or, to be more accurate, a man in punk fashion. What surprised him is the person in front of him is another man, but in a well-tailored, immaculate suit, and both looked at each other fondly in the eyes. Not that he minded, he was just...surprised.

He's still not used to the culture here, after all-

"What will be your order sir?" Gabriel stared at the counter girl, dumbfounded as he failed to realize that one, they had already made their way to the counter, and two, that Kyu has finished her strangely specific order and has not decided to call his attention anyway. Ignoring the tease for now, he ordered a generic cappuccino. What he did _not_ expect was for the girl to ask him any specifications past the sugar level.

"Just give me the standard one." With a nod, the girl disappeared with a smile as another waiter led them to their seats and asked them to patiently wait for their drink. With that leaving, Gabriel decided to look back to the odd couple as he observed what they're doing. Kyu noticed this and decided to look at where her charge was looking at. She raised her eyebrows in recognition: this was one of her previous clients who was, and is, bisexual. Huh, small world.

As the two took their seats, Gabriel can't help but to inhale the aroma of fresh, actual coffee and inhaled a large amount of the cafe atmosphere as they seated, looking like a gardener smelling his fresh flowers. Or like a drug addict on his crack. Visually similar, really. While he inhaled his fix however, he did not notice a blue-haired cutie walk out of the kitchens and a familiar, busty afrohead enter the establishment at the same time.

However, Kyu did. And a sneaky, sly smile etched itself on her face.

* * *

Lola hummed to herself merrily as she entered the Nutmeg Cafe, the sweet aroma of coffee hitting her senses like a drug. Finally, after all the stresses of the most recent landing, she has a couple of weeks to herself before the next flight. With a recent paycheck, and a sweet, familiar taste of java en route to her lips, life couldn't be happier.

Last night she had met up with her girl friend Jessie, and while she had to turn her down then, this week, and the week following, will be one spent in a lavish lifestyle all for themselves. Jessie might bring some dates, but she didn't mind. It's one of the things that made their bond stronger; despite their different approach in lovelife, both respected each other's venture, and gave the appropriate courtesy.

Approaching the counter, Lola turned to the irate-looking girl with blue hair, who just came out of the kitchen.

"Excuse me, miss?" The blue girl turned to the source of the voice as she put down the tray she was carrying.

"Yeah?" Is her unenthusiastic reply. It sounded like a mixture of indifference and irritation, though what it actually meant is up for interpretation.

"I've been here for a while now. I'm still waiting to be helped." It's true; while her thoughts ran along she didn't notice that she's been standing for at least a good five minutes now without doing anything at all, and Nutmeg Cafe is not particularly known for its employees' tardiness. That is to say, the service is usually excellent.

Usually.

"Oh...yeeeeeaaaahhhh. So my shift just ended. I'm pretty much out the door already." Replied the girl. "Umm, I think someone else should be in any minute."

Her voice was devoid of any sarcasm or condescension, though to some it may seem like it did. The girl adjust her glasses as she looked at the imploring customer, who bargained for a final cup of caffeine from her.

"I'm just looking to get a cappuccino." She bargained. "It only takes a second."

Glasses girl, however, is not having any of this.

"I meaaaaannn...It's _more_ than a second, so..." She tries to be polite, she really does, but for some reason her efforts to disengage from the chat is always perceived as her being so callous about everything. Which is sad, because she's anything but. She just doesn't want it, period. No emotions attached.

"Are you serious?" Lola asked incredulously.

"I should have left over fifteen minutes ago, okay? I'm done." And with that, Blue marched out of the room, her path straight as an arrow.

* * *

 _A few minutes earlier..._

Gabriel looked up from his coffee to relish the aroma and taste, and probably give Kyu a commentary should she ever be open to one, only to see Kyu's eyes half-lidded, one of her eyebrows bobbing up and down as she gestured towards two arguing women, one being that blue cutie with a strangely familiar speech pattern, and the other girl being...

"Woah..." The young man's mind pinged in recognition as his facial expression followed suit. His eyebrows raised, and so did his eyelids. Unfortunately for him, good ol' Kyu caught the scene and decided to shoot him with the newfound tease material. Quickly, she sidled up to him and gave him the elbow nudges.

"Mmm, I love me some chocolate." She purred. "I'll have a tall glass of whatever she's serving."

Gabriel rolled his eyes at her somewhat racist comment (is it? not sure). Yet despite that, he couldn't bring himself to chastise the fairy and her shameless flirting. He didn't know why. Is it because she is his tour guide in Lova-palooza? Or is it because she's so _bro_ about it? Or maybe he agreed to her statement?

True enough though, that girl...um...what's the name again?

"I saw her yesterday, actually." Gabriel commented nonchalantly. Kyu turned her head to face him, fast as a coiled spring gone loose, as she processed what he just said.

"Wohohoho, look at this guy." Her voice tinkled through his ears, but he decided to ignore her as he chose to continue watching the incoming catfight. While he's quite sensitive to loud stimuli at such an early hour, both his distance and anonymity pertaining to both parties allowed him to watch the unfolding scene with theatrical glee. Even Kyu's voice died from his systems as he decided to give the interaction his full, undivided attention.

As he saw Lola ask the strange-yet-pretty blue-haired girl to be helped, he found himself nodding along as he heard Blue's reply. It didn't really matter what Lola said; Blue's shift is over, and by then she should be leaving if she isn't going overtime.

...

 _"There you go, just wait a bit more for-No, no, woman. A good, authentic cappuccino takes_ more _than a second."_

...

 _"Yeah, there you go."_

...

 _"Yes she's serious, duh."_ Gabriel rolled his eyes mentally. With the "chat" ending with Blue (as he had dubbed her) marching off with zero fanfare, and Lola at _least_ mildly peeved, he released the tension unconsciously built in his spine and allowed himself to slouch. Leaning back on the backrest, he allowed the mellow drink in his hand to fill his thoughts as he closed his eyes, leisurely sipping the somewhat unreasonably expensive product.

And with it came the phonetically sweet sound of Kyu's voice. Why can't Kyu be the shy kitten type so he can love her forever? The voice _seriously_ didn't match her personality.

Or hey, probably it did. It just wasn't his type: he associated Kyu's voice for the sweet, conservative types. Seeing such a voice come from such a...liberated person, err, fairy brought a fair amount of cognitive dissonance within his system, enough for her to stick around his mind for an extended amount of time. Honestly, Kyu threw him off every time.

His thoughts were then disturbed by an exasperated sigh coming from beside him. The fairy herself, Kyu.

"Mm, I love me some chocolate."

Wait, is that racist?

"I'll have a tall glass of whatever she's serving, know what I'm saying?" She nudged him again with her elbow. "Let's see, considering-"

She didn't expect Gabriel's surprisingly heavy hand on her shoulder as it landed, nudging her out of her thoughts.

"Not yet. I still want to observe her." He stated as he let his body loose, his entire frame relaxing from his hold...except for his eyes, dark brown eyes, eyes that followed Lola's every move. Every single hand movement, every little blink of an eye, even the slightest hint of muscle movement, those eyes caught and recorded. Her face is read like a scanner as his dark orbs analyzed her body language in its watchful gaze.

Kyu, shocked, remained silent as she watched him form a steeple with his hands and used it as a head rest while he continued to observe the lone woman sitting on a chair.

"Gab, what are you doing?" She asked, utterly confused by his behavior.

"Observing her."

"You know, you'd be better off just standing up and talking to her."

"I know, but observing her has it's own benefits."

Gabriel turned to Kyu and raised a finger. Today, the pink fairy shall have a look into the mind of Gabriel as he explained the logic of the situation.

"See, here's the thing." He started as he leaned in slightly. "Why engage in small talk when I can just observe what she's doing?"

"Huh?" Kyu replied. He thought she might have not been able to follow, so he explained.

"Why engage in useless small talk when you can just look at how they behave? For example..." He searched Lola's area for a bit. Not finding anything standing out, he turned back to face Kyu, who still had the questioning look etched on her face. He realized he must not have been able to communicate the idea properly. But it wasn't his fault! They're in a cafe, of all things! There's not much in here to glean from, and she must've come here to relax and have her first-cup-of-the-day coffee. There's nothing that he can do about it here, unless one was to talk to...

Turning to Kyu again, she now wears a cute smile as they both knew that she won this one.

"Don't worry, I know what you mean." The fairy explained. "It's just that this method's just plain better."

A light-bulb lit in his head as realization sank in within him. Actually interacting _does_ make sense, at least for one thing: it solved his dilemma of having nothing to glean on Lola about. By giving himself as an interaction, a stimuli, she can react, and thus he can gauge their capability. It's not foolproof, and it only works to a certain extent, but it has saved him much more than deprave him, and the trade-off is well worth its cost.

There's just one problem with that though.

"What's that?" Kyu's voice brought him back to reality as he realized he's been voicing out his thoughts again. Luckily for him, it seemed that it was low enough so only Kyu could hear. Hell, maybe he was only muttering it to himself, and Kyu just read his lips or she just had very good hearing. It wouldn't be surprising considering she's a fairy and all that.

In mythology, fairies tend to be quite mischievous, and are said to be virtually omniscient in the area that they are flocked to. This is why fairy tales, the originals, often has a fairy on it that always, _always_ , mixes things up and turns a small mess into a big magic-infused mess. Regardless of where their side is, in the end they only make things bigger and more of a headache than it already was. He is almost tempted to launch a rant on Kyu, and considering the fact that she is a fairy herself it should be both ironic and hilarious, but he digressed. Now is not the time for such matters, and his heart rate spiked as Kyu got tired of waiting for his answer and decided to _drag him off to her._

The nerve of the woman!

By the time he managed to arse his mind into action, Lola is already in front of him, smiling softly as she waited for him to recollect his wits.

"Hello there. Remember me?" She asked

"Mm, yeah. Air stewardess, right? Yeah." He smiled back. Seeing the surprisingly good start, Kyu decided it is now time for her to leave as she stood up, "attended class", and ran off, leaving Gabriel to fend for himself.

Ah, the combat of social contact. Thus began his efforts to not be an ass-or more accurately, to be perceived as one-and constant vigilance lest he slip and let any offensive track leave his face hole. Fencing has never been so verbal.

* * *

"That went well." Kyu enthused the clearly irate Gabriel as they walked through the vacant park.

The park itself smelled of flowers and dew as they passed through the wide concrete path. The morning was late enough for sunbeams to pass through the foilage, yet early enough to still remain in dew, and so the scene looked like they went into an enchanted forest. Birds are heard as they called through the air, and the small animals of the ecosystem can be sensed skittering through the trees. Slightly rustling went the leaves as the morning wind swept past them, and the captivating silence of the park is matched with the serene white noise of nature. This is the best place in all of the land.

At least, that's what it is to him at the moment. Kyu seems to be not bothered by the situation, like it's an everyday occurrence. After all, why would she? It's just a park, and people walk through it everyday. Not for Gabriel though. Parks-and nature in general-hold a special place in his heart. They just feel so... _right_ all the time. As if he's meant to be there, like an oasis for his very being. Like as if the whole world felt right and safe in his hands. Of course, the park did not replicate such a majestic feeling, but there have been places that did, and boy did his friends have a hard time pulling him out of it, and that's not putting the animals into the equation just yet, oh no. Put animals and their strange friendliness to the guy, and its a herculean task to get him off of the reserve.

Thankfully, he's a reasonable person, and an easy person to talk to. If he has no reason to decline your request, he'll most likely do it. Thus all the favors he's accumulated through the years. More than a few people can be real bastards though, who only used him to answer their assignments and get free lunches, and he never realized it 'til junior high. Sad.

Until now he still regretted not having seen the signs at first sight. He realized he might've been willingly blinded himself to it. They utterly used him, for fucks sake!

Returning to her question, he surprised the fairy mildly as his voice suddenly broke the silence.

"The only reason why I was able to pull that one off is because I wasn't attracted to her in the first place." He explained. "She's cute and hot, sure, but..." Kyu turned to him.

"She's just not my type. I'm sure she'd make a good friend, but that's about it." He finished as he turned away from Kyu and returned to watching the small forest. "Time may change that, who knows? I don't mind dating her, but I'm not going to force myself into things. Hell, the only thing I did back there is to answer half-heartedly, toss some distraction lines, then close it off with some goodwill in any case I want to talk again. Smart, am I right?" He expected Kyu to urge him out of it, to get back to his senses and get all the _pussay_ , but she only looked at him for a short while then back to the greenery, a small smile present on her face. Kyu is weird sometimes. Though, is that a fair statement to be said about someone he met just over 24 hours ago? Deciding to halt the line of thought in favor of silence, the two continued to walk silently as they took in the park.

"Hey, you've been quiet there for a while." Kyu's face is unreadable as she said that. Then turned for the mischievous, a sigh escaping from her target's lips. "You fantasizing fucking Lola's butt?"

This worked pretty well to draw Gabriel out of his trance as he looked to her with the same unbelieving expression.

"What the fuck, Kyu?" But then, he chuckled, realizing her behavior.

"Thanks for looking out for me Kyu. I find myself kinda wondering if you'd care for me this way even if you're not bound to me by contract."

"Don't make it sound weird!" She played cute. "But huh, I dunno. You're a pretty chill guy Gab, though not everyone can catch up to that crazy mind of yours. Hell, I even get lost myself, and I've lived-"

She then cut herself off. For the first time, it's _Gabriel's_ turn to draw the bullet.

Payback's a bitch, ain't it?

But then, he decided not to shoot back at the chummy fairy, mostly due to two things: One, because he did not want to ruin the peace and quiet that is their little nature walk and two, because its going to start another tease war, and it's far too early in the morning for that right now. Even if he already had his coffee not too long ago, there are things that you just don't do in the mornings: being absurdly loud is one of them.

That, and he didn't want to risk his friendship, no, _bond_ with Kyu. He isn't quite sure if she thinks of him as a friend or she's just doing her job and being nice. While he does realize that it could be both-and he hoped for it to be both-he still can't get the idea of her just being professional out of his head, and that should circumstances arise, she'll turn tailcoat on him anytime.

Irrational, true, but it's there. He did not wish to think ill of the rather eccentric "love" fairy, but still. She's a real cutie + hottie too, so that's a bonus.

They continued to walk through the park silently as Gabriel contemplated on what to do from now on. Aside from enrolling to graduate school for the continuation of his post-grad, he pretty much has nothing else to do. He could get a teaching gig probably, but he's too unfamiliar with the American culture to effectively mix in well. Best case scenario he manages to teach well, but he and the students will be on a professional level about it. Not that that's bad, but the best teachers, he noticed, were the ones who connected with their students. These teachers not only talked _to_ them, but talked _with_ them. They shared thoughts, feelings, and emotions while still maintaining the professional air and mutual respect required by the given scenario. He knew for sure he didn't have enough charisma to pull it off.

Come to think of it, by that definition, Kyu is one great mentor. He nodded to himself as he found himself unconsciously looking at Kyu's bare back. Apparently while he was reflecting on things Kyu decided to swap back to her normal fairy attire.

It also gave him a good view on her tight posterior. Whether this is intentional or not is up for debate.

"You know, sexuality is a thing that you should _embrace_ , not vilify. Wow, vilify, big words coming from me." She chuckled to herself. "So, yeah, it's perfectly fine for you to stare at my ass. Consider it practice. Just be discrete about it with other girls alright? And try not to be an ass and read the environment. If she's alright with it then go head, if no then not." She turned to face him. "Oh, and don't be a creep about it. You know what I'm saying."

That statement made him think. Why is it so vilified to embrace sexuality, after all? So long as it's kept under control, nothing's bad. It must be the church values, he mused. Save for marriage, sex is sacred, and all that. He didn't _totally_ disagree with it, but there are some points that he would have _loved_ to raise about the particular ideology. He didn't really mind losing, just a fun and educational experience.

Speaking of church, he felt his phone ring from within his pocket. The device made a low vibrating sound, catching the two's attention.

A text message.

"What is it?"

"Hmm..." Gabriel looked at the phone screen. Quickly scanning the content, it came from Mum, asking where he is and what's he doing so early in the morning.

"So...?"

He then thought for a while. Should he reply?

Meh, it wasn't important.

"Nothing important. So, what's the order of the day?" He stretched. The nature walk and the silence it brought refreshed him, and while he's not exactly high on energy at the moment, he won't be lethargic anytime soon. A little rest won't be too bad though. Kyu picked up on this as well, and decided to change back to her human disguise as they looked for a bench to sit on. While Gabriel was looking around, he suddenly heard his fairy companion snickering on something.

Her sights are set on a pretty cute woman sitting on a nearby bench.

Kyu's eyes flashed with mischief.

Crap.

* * *

(1) Public Utility Jeepneys - Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their crowded seating and kitsch decorations, which have become a ubiquitous symbol of Philippine culture and art. A Sarao jeepney was exhibited at the Philippine pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair as a national image for the Filipinos.

Jeepneys were originally made from U.S. military jeeps left over from World War II. The word jeepney may be a portmanteau word – some sources consider it a combination of "jeep" and "jitney", while other sources say "jeep" and "knee", because the passengers sit in very close proximity to each other. While most jeepneys are used as public utility vehicles, those used as personal vehicles have their rear doors attached with "For family use" or "Private" sign painted on them to alert commuters. Exceptions to this are jeepneys traversing expressways, where rear doors are mandatory, and at times, mechanically rigged to be controlled from the driver side. Jeepneys are used less often for commercial or institutional use.

(2) Motorized tricycles, or simply tricycles, are an indigenous form of the auto rickshaw and are a common means of public transportation in the Philippines. These public utility vehicles either ply a set route or are for-hire, like taxis. The Boracay Budget Travel website says of the motorized tricycle, "The tricycle is the most popular means of transport in small towns and cities, especially in the rural areas."

Tricycles are built in a variety of styles, which differ from city to city, and are usually made locally by building a sidecar and affixing it to an imported motorcycle. Usually both the cycle and sidecar are covered, but not always by the same roof. Larger companies, such as Fitcor Marketing, also manufacture passenger tricycles.

(3) Me!Me!Me!

* * *

 **AN: Yo, so, gotta ask you guys something. Longer chapters, but slower updates, or shorter chapters, but faster updates?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5: Beginner's Luck**

 **Warning: This chapter may have some mild swearing on it. Mostly due to Gabriel being a bundle of nerves.**

 **AN: For some reason, while the game itself has its own fair share of profanity, I feel a bit adverse to using so much of it despite it being understandable given the situation. Both fairy and guy is either nervous or irritated beyond normal and as such are easily emotionally swayed. I liberally sprinkled as much profanity as I felt it would be for a person would inside his head given the situation. Tell me if you think it's too much.**

 **Also, let me know if the characters are OOC. The game never really did show much about their character, and while what they DID show showed a lot, it's not exactly a large pool to work with. So yeah. Especially Kyu, since getting her character right is integral to writing this story out well.**

 **Another thing. If you notice words such as 'boi' or other misspelled words out there, they're intentional. Just to let you know.**

 **And of course, if you like it, hate it, or have some other thought about the chapter, let me know.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Huniepop isn't mine.**

* * *

 _Previously..._

 _"Nothing important. So, what's the order of the day?" He stretched. The nature walk and the silence it brought refreshed him, and while he's not exactly high on energy at the moment, he won't be lethargic anytime soon. A little rest won't be too bad though. Kyu picked up on this as well, and decided to change back to her human disguise as they looked for a bench to sit on. While Gabriel was looking around, he suddenly heard his fairy companion snickering on something._

 _Her sights are set on a pretty cute woman sitting on a nearby bench._

 _Kyu's eyes flashed with mischief._

 _Crap._

* * *

"Huh." Gabriel stopped in his tracks as he shamelessly stood not too far away from the pretty girl, eyeing her up like some sort of product. Kyu could honestly just read his thoughts about it, but at this point, she didn't even need to try to know that her charge is at least a bit more open in this case, though his crossed arms made it clear that there are no promises being made.

Though _he_ had no commitment to get concerned about, _she_ had quotas to reach, and according to the job description, she _has_ to make Gabriel sleep with all 9 "premier" girls in the town, collect the resulting Hunie from their butt-humping, and then leave him to his own, mind-wipe optional. The job had a bit of a leniency however: if he, for some reason, can't sleep with the 9 girls-which she happens to know all on at least friends level-then she can collect Hunie equivalent to the amount of humping those 9 girls; that is to say, Gabriel has the option of increasing his virility value vertically as well as horizontally.

However, that doesn't seem to be the case, as Gab has shown traits of being a "herbivore male", as she often heard in certain message boards. Not that it mattered, that's what Kyu is for.

Yielding to her own curiosity, Kyu read his "thoughts". Unlike the _actual_ mind reading which required magic and Hunie, fairies can also read a person's emotions. They can alter their sight so as to see the feelings of the person they're looking at via "aura reading": if a person's emotional aura color is red, then that person is in a state of very high arousal; he might be angry, _really_ horny, and so on. If a person's aura is yellow, then that person may be excited, or happy, and so on. Reading on Gabriel's revealed that he is in the yellow-green; a mix of excitement and thought, though as each second passes his color turns another shade of yellow. His aura seems to have misty-like dark endings to it. Weird.

Then again, people have different auras depending on their personality. A scatterbrain may have a very wild and expressive aura, while a disciplined person will most likely have more contained and formed aura, and so on.

"Hmm..."

As he lingered on, Kyu decided to slowly ease him into the prospect of casual dating. He's one of those intentional daters. That is to say, he wants something a bit more permanent out of the relationship, and not just flirting and simply having a good time. Not that Kyu minded, but she'd rather have her human take it step-by-step and have him take on multiple casual dates at once. He can handle it. She may have let him slip earlier, but eventually Kyu will work herself into his system and find some compromise within the situation. She always does, no matter how stubborn her charge may be.

Besides, she had a quota to fulfill, and spreading his oats horizontally works so much faster than vertically.

"Ready?" Kyu asked Gabriel as he took a deep breath. There's a bit of shake in his breath as he exhaled; nothing new, just a virgin getting his first-girl shakes. Although this is the type of behavior you'd expect from a grade-schooler. Talk about sheltered.

"Hmm...I dunno, but..." He turned to her, with nervous eyes. His eyes were totally unlike before, with a cool, composed edge. Now they're as putty as half-cooked egg white. His voice turned from a low, yet calm tone to a even lower, nervous shiver. He's _totally_ anxious right now.

Yet something's telling her he's not pulling back, despite the thrashing mess of yellow that is his aura.

"Ya...ya got my back, right?" He weakly smiled, even his lips trembling.

 _"He's pushing himself_ this _hard, huh? Good job, rookie. Brave guys are such a turn-on."_ Kyu looked up to him, finding him staring right at her eyes only a few inches away. It's amazing how he can fidget so hard to girls she doesn't even have _that_ hard of a desire, but totally have no reaction to other girls otherwise.

 _"Well, if he's pushing himself this hard, I guess I have to pull_ my _end off the bargain too._ _"_

"Of course, you dimwit." She smiled. "Though one question first."

Her nervous charge nodded.

"You have the hots for me right?"

Gabriel nodded silently, his embarassment evident as blood rushed to his cheeks. She screwed up his composure big-time, but she had to know something and his "training regiment" will depend on whatever answer he dictates...and of course, his performance here after evaluating it with his performance in the cafe. That one was unsupervised and unguided; this one's a different story.

"Then, why are you so chill with me but so nervous to other girls? I'm not the only cutie around, you know? Though I have to admit, a fairy sure beats regular women, huh?" She teased. It's true though, more often than not supernatural spirits tend to be more beautiful than their more mundane counterparts, partly due to their nature. And with Kyu being a _love fairy,_ attractive runs in her veins.

"Well...I dunno how to say this, but..."

 _Huh? Why is he fidgeting?_

"See, it's..." He then sighed, as if giving up on something. He probably just said _"_ fuck it" to himself, too.

"It's that...your attitude. It's so...bro."

At that, Kyu couldn't help but laugh. So _that's_ why, huh? Fair enough, she does tend to act too much like a tomboy sometimes. And as he said earlier, if her attitude just matched her looks and her voice, he could've fallen _hard_ for her.

Sad shit.

"Ahahahahaha! Fair enough, though you've gotta admit, this is more fun than you having to walk around eggshells, am i right or am i right?" Gabriel looked at her directly, briefly processing what his attractive mentor just said. Chuckling, he put his hands in his pockets, shaking his head to himself.

"Yeah."

* * *

 _Bro._

 _"What."_

 _Just CHILL. JUST. CHILL._

 _"Yeah. I know. Shut up."_

 _Alright. Now pull your hands out of your pockets and let them loose. Shake your fingers if you feel extra antsy._

 _"Mmkay."_

 _"So far so good."_ Gabriel nodded to himself as he started to step towards the sitting girl on the bench. Just a few moments ago, Kyu had set up a mind link between the two, allowing her to mentally communicate with him. The fairy was surprised that it took a surprisingly lot more Hunie than usual to do it, but thankfully she packed enough for contingency situations, and her reserves fit the bill just right. With Kyu now imperceptible to everyone except to him, she can freely coach him whenever necessary, however necessary. Additionally, she did something to his phone that she kept to herself, not allowing him to see whatever it was until later, she said. Whatever it was, the nervous man could only hope it worked _for_ him, and not against.

 _Okay, now one step forward._

Step.

 _Two step forward._

Step.

 _Three step-_

 _"Jesus Kyu, even_ I _know how to walk."_

* * *

 **-1P POV Gabriel-**

My heart beat in hiccups as I forced myself to walk. It threatened to stop whenever I dared to take a step, but I forced my thighs to lift my legs off the ground, knees bent and frosty as the cold in my feet reached up to the bone. I know that I have no reason to fear, but the mere thought of approaching a beautiful girl with romantic purposes froze nearly all of my higher brain functions, freezing me in place with no thought running in my mind. Thankfully, the girl that had become our first actual run hasn't noticed me yet, and seems actually nice. She's just sitting there, her eyes closed as she took in the environment. _That_ I can relate to.

 _Well, there you go. Common ground is your way to easily connect to the girl, so starting with that's bound to lead you to something._

I heard Kyu's voice in my head as I continued to look at the relaxing girl. Yeah, creepy, I know, but if there's one thing I know from gaming, it's that failing to plan is planning to fail. Yeah, just staying back here allows me to strategize my game plan based on her personality and actions. That, and I can gauge my chances on her. Should I move in and win? Can I pull it off? Can I see this through? Or will I just make an ass out of myself and be a creep?

 _"It's bad enough as it is...I don't have any looks to speak of, and my personality's as exciting as watching paint dry."_ I grabbed the gelatinous layers of fat wrapped around my gut and squeezed at them, feeling them in my hands with a massaging motion. Compared to that girl, I look more like a loser than anything.

 _Yeah. You're a loser._

See, even Kyu-

 _You're a loser if you keep thinking that way. Stop whining like a little bitch and use your fucking balls for once. It's tiny enough as it is-given that you're Asian-so don't go beta on me now, too!_

Ugh, now-

 _"Wait, what? What did you just say to me, Kyu?"_

* * *

 **Kyu POV**

The tone of his mental voice shocked me, causing me to fill my lungs as I unconsciously stopped breathing. His voice went from a wimpy loser-like beta to a low, quiet tone. It's just like that moment in the movies where all sound goes blank except for this character's voice and his voice is low and deep and-

 _Kyu. What did you just say to me?_

There! That voice again. I never thought I'd say this about him but...

My heart actually skipped a beat there. My lips curled to a smile as I waited in excitement for what I already know is to come.

 _"I said you're a fucking little bitch, you fatass nerd."_ I put a bit more edge into the admittedly overbearing statement. It might sting a bit but I'll be damned if I don't get this guy into moving. I like a challenge too but goddamn indecisive ones drive me _crazy_. Like seriously, _just fucking do it_.

Then, I heard the guy _chuckle._ He fucking _chuckled_. This isn't funny-chuckle either. This is I'm-going-to-fucking-murder-you chuckle. The threat isn't there, but _oh damn he's serious now._

Fucking _finally_. Who knew a bit of prodding will give this guy a backbone? Now he can do _something_. Though his anger can come off as a bit aggressive, but that's better than nothing. Taking a breather, I cough lightly to get his attention, but his low voice stopped me from saying anything.

 _Call me a fatass. Call me a nerd. But NEVER call me a little bitch._

His voice, unlike before, is now sure of himself. It's as if he was suddenly dropped with a metric ton of testosterone, and then dipped in a vat of hormones. His voice had a slight edge into it, startling me a little bit as he started walking. Gone was the shaky micro-steps that he once used, now he walked with pride and confidence in his heart, his chest puffed out and his stomach sucked in. While his transformation is less of an actual confidence burst and more of an aggressive combat stance, it's better than a weak, wimpy approach. Besides, the edge makes fora strong intro, even though it may be a bit confrontational.

Still, it's an improvement to mister limpy-dick earlier.

 _"Oh really? Show me how you aren't a little bitch then."_

I only got a chuckle in reply as he stepped forward, the girl's eyes fluttering open.

 _"Showtime!"_

* * *

 **Gabriel POV**

 _"Whoo. Kyu got me riled up over there."_ I said as I stepped up to the closed-eyes girl. She seemed so at peace, it made me think twice about walking up to her.

But I'm here now, and no peace's going to change that.

I step down just a little bit harder than usual, catching her attention. It made me a feel a little guilty, but what's done is done. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes, revealing her beautiful irises to the world, it's color so brown it's almost crimson.

 _"Whoa. Where's all this coming from? Heh. See this Kyu? See what this "little bitch" do? Fuck yeah I can talk to a girl without shaking! Hah, guess I win this round-_

"Um, excuse me?" The girl looked up at me with a soft smile as she waited for me to answer her question. At that moment, my heart disappeared. My backbone felt like it was clenched by some outer force, chills running through my spine like electricity on a pole. My stomach twisted as I tried to find words to say, and my mind went into a total state of blank.

 _"DAMN IT! NOT THIS AGAIN. QUICK, THINK! SOMETHING TO SAY! SOMETHING TO SAY!"_

I heard Kyu suppressing a laugh as I look back at the cute girl in front of me. She smiled patiently as I tried to confirm-I mean conform-I mean form, dammit! Form coherent sentences in my head.

 _"JUST FUCKING SAY SOMETHING ALREADY! JESUS."_

"Uhh, I like roti."

At that moment, silence enveloped the landscape as time went in suspension over the sheer stupidity of what I had just said. Birds stopped chirping, dogs stopped barking, and all I heard as a reply is the wind blowing through the trees, and I swear I keep hearing the word "dumbass" whenever it blows.

There's also Kyu, who is laughing her ass off. I couldn't see her, but apparently she was trying to say something to me while I was panicking. Turns out, she was pointing at the three massive bars behind the girl which offered dialogue, none of them stating "I like roti.". It's probably a retinue of good choices to say, and having been completely ignore up to this point, vanished into thin air as the girl and I stared at each other silently.

 _HAHAHAHAHA I LIKE ROTI WTF LIKE OMG BRO LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL._

 _"Did Kyu just say 'lol'? As in literally 'lol'? What the fuck."_

Kyu continued to guffaw at this buffoon, yours truly, as she continued to enjoy my misery. This is _exactly_ why I don't approach potential romantic interest women! I keep getting embarassed! EVEN THE WIND IS TELLING ME THAT I'M DUMB. See, it's even laughing at me with a feminine voice-

Wait, the wind has no actual voice, I know, but the feminine voice that's not Kyu's...

I bring my attention back to reality and to the girl, who is apparently laughing her ass off as well, barely containing her mirth as she scarcely maintained her upright sitting position.

 _"I'm surprised she hasn't slapped me for being a racist yet."_

 _HAHAHAHAHA-yeahhhh, I me-HAHAHAHAHHA-mean, roti? Fucking really? ROTI? HAHAHAHAHA_

Right, Kyu is incapable of helping me at the moment. Way to go, coach. Now I have to rely on those retinues-

"Whoo! That was really funny. I appreciate that." Her soft, gentle voice escaped her lips as I watched her mouth move with every syllable. She seemed to wear no makeup as she sat and yet she's still very beautiful to behold.

It's a good thing Kyu is still laughing. Else she'll tease me.

"Uhh, thanks, I guess? But aren't you mad that it's a bit..."

"Hmm?"

"A bit...uh...racist?" My voice came out uncertain as I shakily inquired about her curious reaction. Hell, even I have no exact definition of what "racist" is and how far can you go with race jokes before offending someone. As far as I know the only time you become racist is when you discriminate other people on the sole basis of their ethnical heritage, but that's about it. There's bound to be some more complications such as history and respect and whatnot that I'm not aware of, and even then they vary from person to person. Another reason why I don't buy into the game; it sucks, full of bugs, and every attempt is a living minefield with a massive collateral potential.

I admit that the result far outweighs the price, despite the shakiness of the aforementioned reward, but still.

"No, not really. At least to me it isn't." She reassured, a knowing smile encompassing her face. Doesn't this woman ever get tired of smiling? I can't even smile for 5 seconds, for crying out loud. Unless something funny happened or something, but that's a given.

 _Well well well, nice work playboi. Ya got to crack a vaguely racist joke AND managed to turn the negative on it's head. Good job, rookie!_

 _"Yeah, but-"_

 _So long as you remember that everyone thinks differently from each other, you're in the gold right now. Now go ahead and break that bad girl open!_

 _"That sounded so wrong."_

 _I don't give a shit. You know what I'm talking about, that's what's important. Ah, and I'll be going on ahead and make things interesting. No more choices for you._

Interestingly, I felt no irritation or anger at that not-so-subtle sabotage of my resources but rather nothing more than a sense of exasperation as I returned my attention back to my surprisingly cool nerves and the girl in front of me. Huh, she's quite patient. Truly an admirable trait.

"That, and the fact that you asked whether it offended me or not is a beautiful thing. Thanks." She thanked me, her smile never fading as she patted the spot beside her, offering me a seat.

"Good morning, person. My name's Beli. What's yours?" Her near-crimson eyes met mine as she waited for my reply, patient as ever. Ah, who am I kidding? Who am I to deprive this wonderful woman my company?

"Ah, my name's Gabriel. A pleasure."

 _Game, set, match._

I heard Kyu's voice ring in my head as she started her commentary in my behavior. Truth be told, her efforts have managed to calm me down somewhat, removing my thoughts from nervousness, anxieties, and what-ifs, though I can imagine her getting a kick out of it and teasing me about it later. A fair trade, I suppose, given the situation. I can see her now, getting a seat and pulling out a tub of popcorn, propping her feet up to some fence as she watched like a couch potato.

I'd have to think about this crisp and concise, in such a manner that will effectively yield maximum bang for minimum buck, so that not only do I make a good impression, but also one-up Kyu about me being a little bitch. The former totally being the main reason and not the latter.

"So, Gabriel, lovely morning, isn't it?" She started as she looked around with her perpetual smile gracing her features. I seriously question why she keeps smiling all the time. Doesn't she get tired by that? And even I'm getting tired of asking the same question to myself all over again for the umpteenth time. Maybe I should stop?

Nah, that's stupid. Tactical dating, here we go.

 _PFFFFFT-_

 _"Shut up, Kyu."_

"Yeah, I agree. The air's nice too, free of smoke or anything undesirable. Just pure, clean, fresh air." I agreed as I liberally took in the morning air once more. Sometimes I wonder why people don't wake up early for this. It certainly beats the city smog. Well, this city didn't have the smog problem, but still. My companion agreed wholeheartedly as she closed her eyes to join me in my reverie. We enjoyed the silence for a few minutes in a non-awkward manner. An achievement! Is she an introvert too?

 _..._

Kyu's gotten silent for quite sometime now, in contrast to her earlier noises. She made a point to make constant background white noise in my head as I went along, and it helped massively with my anxiety. She seemed too interested in watching this exchange fold out it seems, as I had to remind her to back me up here with 'dem noises' before she snapped back to reality and did her job.

The last thing my tactical dating needed are fried circuits. Nerves, that are fried, is what I meant.

And yes, Kyu started guffawing again. Hey, at least her chuckling took majority of the pressure off me. It's a give-and-take relationship apparently.

She can at least try to be nice though. Then again, where's the fun in that? Kyu won't be Kyu anymore if that's the case.

Whoa there. What did that statement mean exactly?

Apparently, I've been animate in my reflection as I snapped back in reality to find the girl-no, woman-beside me watching me, amusement evident in her face. My brain froze at it's metaphorical feet as I met her smiling gaze with a shameful attempt of a mimic as a reply. Fortunately, my love fairy's guffawing sent me back to reality and thus made the situation a whole lot less serious than it actually is, and made me relax immensely. I chuckled to myself as I realized Kyu may have been living the love fairy dream in her, that is this, job. Entertainment? Yes. Power? Yes. Penis? Yes. It's everything that a love fairy would want. Well, at least someone like Kyu will. And I have no problem with that. A mutualistic relationship with a cute, hot, suspiciously yet not entirely unexpected promiscuous love fairy? Count me in.

"You seem to have entertaining thoughts in your mind, Gabriel. What is it?" Before I was able to even process what she said to me, Kyu's voice cut through my mind like a knife through hot butter.

 _Quick, now's your chance! Say something, anything that can hint you having an interest in her!_

That sounded strangely salesman-like to me, and a bit exploitative.

 _JUST. DO. IT. Nothing will go wrong, I promise. Aal izz well._

Her cute voice rang through my mind as I blatantly tuned off all nervousness in my head and did as I was told. Well, here goes nothing.

"Thinking about you." I never thought I had it in me as I saw her reaction. She was taken back a bit, her bottom firmly planted on the bench while her upper body reeled back a good inch or two in surprise. It was less of what I said and more of how I said it that invoked such an exaggerated reaction. I said that in a low, suggestive tone, with my voice picking up at the latter sound of "tone", giving off the impression of some guy nervously confessing his attraction a girl in a typical Eastern high-school environment. I know I'm in the West, and when in Rome, but that's the only one I can think of at the moment. I have very minimal experience on dating, having almost always been the third wheel and best wingman of my bros, and the only thing I'm drawing from at the moment are visual novels, dating sims, and eroges. I do have massive experience in being a wingman though, if that meant anything.

Her embarrassment began to make itself apparent as her voice cracked. Huh, so I'm not the only one nervous in this awkward situation. Well it's a relief for me to see that she hasn't taken flight yet and spread rumors about me being a weirdo to her so early in the morning while she was relaxing on her own, the situation we found ourselves in only grew worse as all the pressure lain off by Kyu from minutes prior has all come back with a vengeance and then some. The awkwardness was so thick it can be cut with a knife, and in all honesty, leaving a bad impression on a good woman like her is such a waste. And she's rare if what my knowledge about the state of Western romance at the current moment is. I suppose it could be worse. If she was some third-wave feminist or something I might be in a police station right now, and not in the right side of the law, regardless of my innocence.

Still, I managed to muster up the courage to restart this venture as I looked up to her, only for my throat to hitch as air escaped my lungs and failed to form meaning.

 _"Kyu, a little help here!"_ I asked my emergency hotline fairy mentally for some backup. It's a good thing she isn't guffawing anymore, and is instead calmly watching the situation with undivided attention, only her silent breathing answering my call. She noticed though, as I felt something strange in the air. In a second, a nut rolled out from out of the hedges, and followed suit came a squirrel. It chased it's prey with the vigor of a predator as it ran on it's stubby little legs. I found the scene amusing...as well as the reaction of my current woman companion. She reached down and picked up the acorn that was being chased, stopping the squirrel momentarily as it thought on what to do (if it was even capable of doing so). It sure looked like he did though, what with it's tiny little hands resting on it's mouth and whatnot.

She picked up the thing with rapt interest, surprisingly, as she turned it around and spun it slowly, as if modeling it to herself. The squirrel in question have decided in favor of safety and decided to run back to the bush it originated from, leaving Beli with the acorn in her hand...which she promptly stored somewhere within her sari.

 _"There must've been a pocket in there...I guess. How should I know? Never worn a sari before. Or ever, as it looks like it's for women. I think."_

 _Ey boss._

I heard Kyu's voice ring in my head as Beli and I exchanged smiles, the silence being somewhat bearable despite the former awkward pressure it had. I'd like to think that now's the time Kyu will actually give some help, since that chipmunk did a bit of her work itself.

 _Yo, nice acorn eh?_

Oh, okay.

 _"Yeah, thanks. But I need something a bit more dynamic here, Kyu."_ I explained. _"I need something to hold a conversation to. I need an icebreaker."_

Immediately then I heard the sound of an ice cream truck passing by, followed by a growl.

Beli and I looked at each other, then to my stomach.

Then we heard another growl.

Beli and I looked at each other, and then to her stomach.

We laughed.

* * *

"So I said, hey! And then he fell on the floor!" We shared a laugh as I recalled some childhood "stories" to share to the girl in front of me. Apparently, her full name is Beli Lapran, and she is, as expected, an Indian. She also loved the flower lilac, and is a yoga instructor at the nearby gym.

Yes. Apparently I have conducted an interview while we got to breakfast in a nearby diner. Speaking of breakfast, this one's fried eggs are really good. I need to get a hold of the recipe they used.

 _Yo, I think the date's going rather well. Just keep it up!_ Kyu cheered me on mentally as I continued to watch Beli eating. I have to say something, anything, before this awkward mess becomes unbearable.

But what to say? I don't want to pry or ask something irrelevant or personal, and I've run out of ideas at the moment. Sure, I could ask about her hobbies and whatnot, but I've been doing that for quarter an hour now, and I firmly believe she's starting to get bored, despite her appearance. It's a testament to her character that she remains as courteous and nice as she was earlier when we first met, but until how long could her patience last?

As if on cue, the world shifted around me as it became saturated with pink hue and four big bars-the choice retinues-reappeared from the grave. Or from Kyu to my mind, to be exact. Oh hey, it's the four bars again. My phone feels a little warm too...

Yep, it's screen is glowing, as if it's projecting out the choices from within my phone. Yeah, right.

 _There you go, tiger! The Huniebee is now helping you out in your time of need! It automatically thinks up responses that you can make to the girl you're currently engaged with. Oh, and it's also impossible for the thing to spit out a wrong answer, so choosing any of those is A-okay. Though of course, it still depends on the girl which kind of response she likes best._

 _"Huh. So it IS coming from my phone. Weird."_ I offhandedly said as words materialized from within the huge bars behind Beli. Each of them has their own take on the situation, and seems to be quite helpful. Suspiciously, each has a different color assigned to them: green, blue, orange, and red, and each with their own symbol.

The green star looks playful:

 **"Hey, that sari's cute on you. Where's it from?"**

It seems like a good choice, an inquiry that also establishes connection, plus a bonus compliment on the side. Still, it sounds so...mm, not me, I guess? Eh, time to check the other ones.

The blue musical note sounds a bit prideful:

 **"Yo, this food's good. I should know, I cook killer eggs myself."**

While there's nothing inherently wrong in that statement, it still looks somewhat off to me. Is it because of the "yo" or because of the "killer eggs"? Either way, it still sounds "not me", so I quickly turn to check the other two.

The orange crescent looks a bit cheesy:

 **"This food's good, just like the way my heart feels when I'm with you."**

Cheesy. As. Fuck. Another thing is that it might be too early to lay on that kind of moves in the "game". Seriously, we just met earlier, and that type of response is the type that you give to a person that you've been seeing for at least some time now. Not to someone you just met not even an hour ago! My eyes drift down to check the last one.

The red teardrop looks a bit aggressive in my opinion:

 **"Mmm, good food. You know, I heard eggs can boost your libido..."**

That ellipses over there seems to hint more than just a fact statement, and from the looks of it, I have neither the charisma, nor the talent to pull off such a stunt. Hell, the moment I stop monologuing or analyzing the choices in front of me the anxiety I've been pushing aside will crash on me like a landslide, and while Kyu's been a big help, the problem lies from within. As such, even if she helps me out now, nothing will change if I myself don't. Speaking of, this format of choices remind me of that game Kyu made me play: Huniepop. Is this it? Is Huniepop imprinting itself into the material world via magic to help me out in my conquest to, uh, get the pussy?

 _Took you long enough to notice, you airheaded bundle of nerves._

Kyu's voice rang inside my head, though it doesn't seem that she's quite done talking yet.

 _Aside from those four picks-Flirtation, Talent, Romance, and Sexuality in case you forgot-there are some "buffs" to them as well._

I raised my eyebrows at this? Buffs? What buffs?

 _With each time you talk with a chick, the Huniepop app will flare up and give you choices in case you need them. Out of these four, one will have 3 hidden side-effects: It can have a Joy token, a Passion token, or a Broken Heart token. You remember them from the game, don't you?_

I nodded to myself as Beli looked up at me and started talking. Torn between the two, I chose to listen to my liberated mentor as the Indian girl's words passed from one ear and out of the other one.

 _The effect of the Passion token is that, obviously, the passion between the two of you at the moment will increase. The Joy token will make her bubble up with happiness, and Broken Heart can range from you saying a dickish sentence to being a total asshole, so watch out for that. Oh, I forgot, there's another one: the Sentiment tokens. These tokens are fuel for my own Hunie, and I can use that so you can give her some gifts. Here, I'll show you. Take this gift out for a ride, it's on the house._

As she said that, a plushy bear materialized out of thin air from beside me. With it's pink, magical entrance, it's a relief that the chair I'm sitting on is the type that's connected to the wall and has a tall backrest, so nobody could have noticed that except if they were paying attention to me specifically, and with Beli focused on telling one of her stories, she didn't seem to catch the flash of pink light earlier. Good.

 _Date gifts have different effects on the date depending on what type of gift you give. Go ahead, give it a shot!_

 _"So? What am I gonna do with this? Just pop it out and hope for the best?"_

 _No, you silly! Of course wait for the right time and place to give it! But hey, if you want to just shove it in her mouth, I ain't stoppin' ya._

There goes that valley girl accent again. I have a love-hate relationship with the thing: cool enough to bro, but takes away Kyu's cutesie image. Might be for the better, she's a "love fairy" after all. From what she's shown me so far, she reminds me of succubi, only far more benevolent and helpful than the lust demons are.

 _I think you should wrap it up now. Don't stick around for too long if you don't need to: if you feel like you've said enough, then it's time to go. As long as it's you legitimately done and not just you wimping out then don't force yourself._

Hmm, that makes sense. If I would force myself to extend the meeting far more than it should, it would eventually become awkward and would probably end in a bad note. Then again, I haven't started actually "flirting" yet, so there. Now, what choice to make? Should I pick one of these, or give the bear first? More importantly, how would I know if I have made the right choice? And if I picked the wrong one, what would she say? Would she hate me for it? Would she look at me like I'm some sort of creep? Would she-

 _Just shut up and do it Gab, you're doing that annoying wimpy thing again._

Kyu scolded me from within my head as I started to doubt myself. I didn't realize it from within my train of thought, but my heart started hammering again as it is reminded of what is actually happening at the moment.

I'm actually in a date with a girl.

Though technically it isn't, and this is nothing more but a breakfast meal and we just so happened to eat together, I realize that this kind of thing is similar to what you would do on dates, at least on first dates. Consequent dates will have to be ramped up on passion and actions and whatnot. At this point, the only thing I have to do is to talk to her and spark her interest, yet I can't even do it. I just don't know what to say! Sweat started to pour through my pores as I nervously looked at Beli, who is about to finish her breakfast. I looked down, and mine's not even half done.

Dammit! Why do I have to be so damn awkward?!

 _UGGGGHHHHHHHH_

I heard Kyu's frustrated moan as my mind raced on what to do,

 _YOU HAVE THE DAMN CHOICES BRUH. USE IT. BRUH._

Her voice is mixed in a tone of frustration and exasperation, and I couldn't really blame her for it. Oh yeah, I did have choices...

I swallowed my spit as my heart hammered and I reviewed them one by one. Really, I'm just studying them to give out the best response available. I'm totally not stalling; no sir.

 _GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

And just like that, the mental connection was cut off. My mind froze as I waited for Kyu to say something, anything. After a few seconds of silence, I began to panic as realization dawned on me, that Kyu might've been tired of my shit and decided to just fuck-this-shit-i'm-out on me. Can't blame her, but...

I sighed in defeat as I raised my head back to the choices. Damn all this, I'll just go whatever, and-

"Would you like a second serving?" A familiar voice caught my attention as it rang in my right ear. Could it be...?

Standing right beside me, of all people, is KYU! She's in her human disguise, with her brown hair done to a much simpler comb-back/spiky fashion, and she somehow managed to get a uniform of this diner's employees. And I know for sure she isn't an employee. Must be the magic again. That would be convenient. Like, when going to the uni-

 _FOCUS!_

Surprised, I looked up to Kyu and give me a smile, though her eyes told a story far different than the rest of her body did. As our eyes broke contact, she placed a label-less sachet in front of me, with a cup of coffee after that. The same she did to Beli, but also with an order of french fries. She must've ordered it earlier, then asked if it could be delivered after she eats her main course. She seems to be happy about the situation, so I guess I'm still in the safe-

 _NO IT ISN'T. See, this is the reason you can't get laid. You don't do jack shit! You just expect girls to fall on your lap because you're a decent person. At least you're not one of those "nice guys", but still! If you want a girl, then work for it!_

As she turned to leave, she pumped her fist to me, to somehow motivate me I guess. It didn't do much in that category, but in lightening up the tension it worked like a charm. I then picked up the sachet she dropped in front of me besides the coffee. It has no label, though it has the faintest scent of strawberry, and it gave off a feeling that as if I knew it from somewhere before. Looking up to Kyu suspiciously, she didn't even try to hide her efforts as she gave me a knowing wink and a slight twirl of her index finger, which trailed behind a faint trail of pink dust...

Oh. OH.

"NO-" I rocketed from my seat and in front of her, but before I could say anything, Kyu gave me a massive upward smack from my lower right jaw, and she did so in a way that made it look like an accident. It hurts, woman!

"Oh it's you!" She hugged me immediately afterwards, a bit too tightly, though obviously intentional. She then placed her mouth right next to my ear, her breath tickling my ears as I tried my best to not let out any reaction whatsoever. Thankfully, only Kyu seems to have noticed it as my situation grew harder-err, more difficult to handle. I awkwardly tried to hug back, but the best I was able to achieve is contact just barely shy of the Awkward Hover.

 _"Bro."_ She said this time, whispering to my ear, but also talking via mental channels to be sure. _"That thing is NOT a date drug. The one I put on yours is an inhibition limiter. It'll allow you to speak to this girl properly but not quite enough to just go and ask her to a motel just yet. Just how much you'll get out of it depends on the person, so I dunno."_

 _"The one I put beside hers is a sort of happy-mood drug."_ My eyebrows curled in suspicion and offense as her actions leaned towards the more "questionable" path, to say the least. _"The only thing it does is make her happier and more open to you. Nothing else."_ I pulled back from the hug to face her directly, my image rigidly tense and stern as I held her eye contact.

 _Promise?_ I asked mentally. If this is one sort of rape-y trick, I'm calling the whole thing off. I just can't deal with this.

 _"Promise."_ Her usual flirty, "bro"-ish tone is gone from her voice as she faced me with the same seriousness as I had. True, I've been rather wimpy and indecisive throughout my interaction with Beli, but I'm not willing to go as far as to drug the both of us to work it out. I'm not _that_ desperate.

Kyu, at the very least, seems to share my hatred of drug usage as she left us with the cordial smile she's shown to the public just before. Between all the people here, I'm not surprised if it turns out that only I saw the entire interaction, given the spry fairy's liberal use of her magic. It took me a few seconds to realize that Beli has been staring at me, wondering what I've been thinking.

"You look like you're thinking about something." Her soothing voice relaxed my ears as I sat back on my seat, my eyes never leaving the sachets as I did so. She seems to not have caught on on this, seeing as she never lifted her gaze from me. "Penny for your thoughts?"

A scratching suspicion behind my head attempted to stop me from what I'm about to do, but this time I'm going to bet my chances on Kyu. I will NOT stand by let my youth slide idly by without the color of romance splattered over it, and if I have to bite the bullet, then so be it. For all my claims about being independent and unreliant of romance and dating I'm surprisingly malleable on the subject. Biting my lip hard enough for me to taste blood, I ripped the sachet open and let the pink sand flow to the steaming cup of coffee in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I bit the bullet.

"Say." I asked, establishing eye contact as I leaned on the table. "Wanna hear a story?"

 _"I gotcha, fam."_

* * *

"Ah, that was nice." I commented somewhat wishy-washy-ly to Kyu as we made our way through the town. By this time, the sun is well above the horizon, and the early morning rays are warm just enough to not be irritating. It felt nice on the skin, and both inside and outside I felt warm and happy. Outside, because of the sun, and inside, because of how well the 'date' went.

Apparently, the pink powder Kyu gave us was some sort of hormonal amplifier. Kyu said that it amplified "what made men men and women women" and sure enough, it did feel like it. After just a few seconds of ingestion, I felt a sudden spike of heat erupt from within my body, and with it, all anxiety and doubt ceased to exist. It's as if a great fire consumed whatever frost was within my inner self and replaced it with a burning desire to just put myself out there for all the attractive women to see. No longer did I feel like an awkward nerd trying to catch a cute girl's attention, instead I felt like a man striking his chest out, with his back straight and stomach in, letting the women chase me instead of me chasing them, letting them know that I'm worth it. That I'm one hell of a catch. A few doubts tried to rise from their ashes, but they were obliterated by whatever fire it was within me as I took on the lead, aggressively asserting myself in the situation.

My phone blinking was not lost to me as I smoothly extracted details about herself from the renewed engagement. With our interaction going so smoothly, I barely noticed myself constantly barraging her with questions and teases, which she surprisingly ate up. With each new detail learned, my phone silently buzzed within my pocket to let me know its actions. But it wasn't only me who managed to enjoy. She got to tell her own fair share of stories as well, and whatever that drink did to me did to her as well, but female version. She suddenly looked younger, her hair more vibrant and lush, her eyes sparkling with renewed vigor. Her posture lost all slack and her body suddenly made itself known to me. It's as if whatever subconscious attempts at hiding she did earlier were lost, and now she confidently put herself out there, just as I did. With both of us opening our ports to each other, we had a fantastic time.

So much that we didn't realize that a couple of hours have already passed. Reluctantly, we left each other's company, and yes, I got her number. The moment she stepped out of the diner and her presence replaced by Kyu did all the fire drain away, and I was left a mess of joy and melted substance. Still, I loved it.

"So," Kyu began. "What's with the shell?"

"What shell?"

"You know, like this." When I raised my eyebrow at her, because I literally have no idea what she's talking about right now, she sighed. "I mean why are you hesitating to share your thoughts with that Beli girl. Even when I gave you that little boost all you did is to swap stories and get info. You didn't open up to her as you did with me."

Ah. So that's what this is about. I looked at Kyu as she studied me blatantly with half-lidded eyes. Looks like I'm not getting out of this one.

"Well...I'm not to comfortable putting my thoughts out there to a stranger." Her face reacted with a mild surprise, urging me to continue. "I don't know, it just doesn't...feel right." I said.

While the flames earlier eliminated all anxiety within my system, long-held values and beliefs held firm in the midst of the burning wave. One of these is my reluctancy to share my own ideas with people. Kyu is a special case: aside from being a fairy, she has accepted me with open arms, and while she _did_ judge me for my beliefs regarding certain matters, she didn't condemn me on it, and instead opted to help me out despite my issues. That alone is a massive plus-point to me.

That, and she's been seen by myself in the company of my big brother. And that guy can somehow weed out bad people from the good ones. It must be because he's so successful socially that filtering out the bad people from the bunch comes off as second nature, just like me overanalyzing things and freezing myself on the spot.

"I'm not asking for you to spare me some changes Kyu. I'm just asking for some time to adjust." I said finally, giving Kyu the best rendition of a smile I can come up with. She accepted this apparently, as she sighed and gave me a light-hearted smile in return. A good amount of silence reigned between us as we continued to walk down the sidewalk, not minding anyone in our way. For some reason, a feeling in my heart tugged at me as it clamored for a change of pace. It wanted me to keep talking, to somehow extend my interaction with this beautiful being beside me.

I shrugged inwardly as I gave myself a defeated smirk. It appears that I have not fully juiced out the kinks from the little boost earlier. Eh, this is Kyu. It's not as if I'll fail or anything. Deciding to go all-hell, I randomly made a face of epiphany.

"Has that been what I've been missing out on?!" I sharply turned to Kyu as she's back to her human 'self': brown hair, casual clothes, tomboy mode.

"Pretty much, yeah." She shrugged, smiling at me as she did so. For all her teasing and laughing, she had-no, has-the best of intentions, and is still exerting a conscious effort in helping me out. I know it's her job to do so, but I can't help but think that she's doing this because she liked helping out other people as well.

"You love doing this stuff don't you?" She looked at me, eyebrows raised in confusion. "Helping other people out. Getting a job as a love fairy is just icing to the cake, isn't it?"

She then winked at me.

"Well, I guess? All I know, I'm doing what I love, and I get paid to do it. I don't give a shit either way what they call me. So long as it's something decent at least. Can you imagine being called a 'slut fairy'? Eww, gross. Even I'm not that easy, and I'm as liberated as you can get."

"Aww, is our widdle fairy blushing at being caught? D'aww."

"Oh, you wanna play that kind of game, eh boi?" Right as we began our little camaraderie fight, my phone rang again.

My body froze. Sweat leaked out of my pores.

"What is it, bro?"

"It's mom."

"So?"

"50 FUCKING MISSED CALLS."

Both of us paled.


End file.
